Thirty leading UK companies and financial institutions, managing around £3 trillion in assets, have signed a joint letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling on government to set out a ‘Net Zero Investment Plan’ alongside the upcoming Green Finance Strategy.
The UK’s financial sector is eager to invest in the net zero transition and capture the growth opportunities of new, sustainable markets across the world. However, unleashing investment by the private sector will require the government to give investors the confidence they need to invest – including providing certainty and consistency in policy, and strategic public investment in the most critical sectors for decarbonisation.
By setting out a Net Zero Investment Plan, underpinned with independent tracking of financial flows across the economy, government can kick-start a rapid and dynamic feedback loop between policymakers and markets. Critically, the plan should create an expert body dedicated to tracking and assessing the size of the low carbon investment gap for sectors and how those will be met. This body will be instrumental in monitoring the delivery of the Net Zero Strategy in practice and encouraging the flow of private finance towards sustainable investments.
This letter comes at a moment of enormous economic uncertainty when net zero investment needs to be urgently catalysed to support green economic growth, strengthen energy security and help tackle the cost of living crisis by accelerating investment into clean energy and energy efficiency. This will only be achieved if the UK government works hand in hand with the private sector to unlock the markets of tomorrow.
List of signatories:
