Is existing UK Government policy sufficient to attract and keep green investment? Ministers answer MPs’ questions
Marking the final evidence session of the Financial sector and the UK’s net zero transition inquiry, the Environmental Audit Committee will be hearing from UK Government Ministers Baroness Penn and Lord Callanan.
Likely areas of questioning
During this evidence session, the Government’s ambitions for the sector, recently set out in the 2023 Green Finance Strategy, will be discussed. MPs are likely to ask about the Government’s plans for transition planning, a green taxonomy and climate-related disclosures, and opportunities for the UK’s financial sector to collaborate with other international financial centres.
The Committee is also likely to explore the best route for securing investment into the net zero transition, particularly in light of the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States and reports of companies planning to move green investments to the US market.
In previous evidence sessions the Committee has heard how there is currently a “colossal market failure” in relation to the net zero aspirations of financial institutions, and how a lack of international alignment results in jurisdictions competing with each other on green taxonomies and sustainable finance standards. The Committee has also heard that in the last decade, over $600 billion of capital for fossil fuel companies has been raised on global stock exchanges , compared to $56bn for renewable energy concerns.