GIB green purpose under threat as Government announces intention to repeal statutory provisions confirmed: GIB to become competitor rather than multiplier of private investment in UK economy.
The government announced today that it intends to repeal legislation that ensures the Green Investment Bank is green.
The announcement was made as part of the Government’s plans to privatise the Green Investment Bank. E3G, the think tank that originally developed the idea of the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB), today warned that repealing the legislation threatened to destroy the green credentials of the world’s first green public bank. It also warned that privatising the bank would destroy its ability to crowd-in private investment into the UK low carbon economy.
E3G called on the Government to provide guarantees that the GIB will:
- Retain its statutory purpose to overcome market failures affecting financing of the UK's smart, green infrastructure of the future;
- Operate to open major new investment options for investors in the UK's low carbon economy while making a material contribution to decarbonisation;
- Maximise the deployment of equity and debt capital from EU sources such as the European Fund for Strategic Investment;
- Support the UK’ cities, regions and nations in creating robust low carbon economies
Creating the GIB was among the most successful environmental and economic initiatives of the previous government. Widely copied around the world it has invested £2 billion of public money in 50 projects leveraging an additional £6 billion in private capital and generating a return on investment of 9%.
Nick Mabey, Chief Executive of E3G said:
Removing legal protection over the GIB’s green purposes is another blow to its green credentials. There would be no guarantee it will remain green however they dress it up. It sets the GIB on to a path of being just another bog-standard asset manager, destroying its ability to leverage in private investment. It is an economic own-goal.
ENDS
Contact
Sepi Golzari-Munro, +44 (0) 7867 314 004, Sepi.Golzari-Munro@e3g.org
Nick Mabey, +44 (0) 7949 768 771, nick.mabey@e3g.org
