Green Gilts being issued in UK for first time10 Nov 2020 17:29
Interesting- Chancellor Rishi Sunak will on Monday outline plans to launch the UK’s first green gilts in an attempt to bolster the country’s low-carbon credentials.
The British government, which will host the delayed COP 26 international climate talks in Glasgow next year, is keen to position itself as a world-leading green finance hub.
Green gilts — or “green sovereign bonds” — are a form of borrowing by governments to fund low-carbon infrastructure projects and are already used in 16 countries including Germany and Sweden.
The Treasury refused to comment beyond a statement that confirmed Mr Sunak would set out “proposals to bolster the UK’s position as a world-leading green finance hub and accelerate the drive for net-zero”, the target to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
The news comes as the Bank of England said it would launch a climate stress test for financial institutions in June 2021 — which had been delayed this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Compared to the financial crisis and the pandemic, the risks from climate change are even bigger and more complex to manage,” said Andrew Bailey, BoE governor, on Monday.