What is the financial sector doing to support the UK’s net zero transition?
The Environmental Audit Committee takes evidence from four of the UK’s largest financial institutions as part of its inquiry into The financial sector and the UK’s net zero transition.
MPs hear from HSBC UK, Legal and General Investment Management, AXA and Aviva Investors in a session exploring the role and ambition of the private sector in supporting the UK’s transition to net zero emissions.
Meeting details
The Committee wrote to several signatories of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) last year on their net zero investment policies. As signatories of GFANZ, the Committee is likely to explore how these firms currently support the UK’s target of net zero emissions by 2050, including on their plans to phase-out fossil fuel investments. Witnesses’ views are also likely to be sought on the effectiveness of voluntary sustainability initiatives such as GFANZ in driving forward climate action by the financial sector.
Members are also likely to discuss investment into net zero transition activities, including whether the private sector has a role in filling the funding gap needed for the UK to meet its net zero commitments, including on nature and biodiversity. The Climate Change Committee has estimated that low carbon investment must scale up each year to deliver net zero, whilst research by the Green Finance Institute (GFI) has estimated that a minimum £44 billion to £97 billion in investment above current public sector commitments is required for the UK to meet nature-related outcomes in the next ten years.
Ahead of the anticipated publication of the updated Green Finance Strategy, other likely topics for discussion include the various regulations and policies to tackle greenwashing, such as on climate transition plans, Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDRs) and the UK Green Taxonomy.