Mobilising Green Investment: The UK Government’s 2023 Green Finance Strategy

The UK government sees huge opportunities for the UK’s financial and professional services industry in the global transition to a “resilient, nature positive and net-zero economy”, and it is against this backdrop that on 30th March 2023, the government’s latest Green Finance Strategy has been published.

This Strategy is an update to the UK’s 2019 Green Finance Strategy and intends to place the UK at the forefront of the growing global market for green finance.

In this Strategy, the government sets out the measures it plans to take to achieve its green finance objectives.  Many are not new announcements – but provide a welcome update on the government’s next steps, including the following:

• a consultation in Q3/4 2023 on the introduction of requirements for the UK’s largest companies to disclose their net zero transition plans;
• with final ISSB global sustainability standards expected to be published in summer 2023, the government aims to make its assessments as to their suitability for the UK within 12 months of publication;
• a consultation has been launched seeking views on whether ESG ratings providers should be brought within the FCA’s regulatory perimeter;
• a consultation in Autumn 2023 on proposals for a UK green taxonomy; and
• a review of the regulatory framework for effective stewardship (including the operation of the Stewardship Code) and further clarity on the fiduciary duty for pension fund trustees.

You can find more detail in our client note.