This book seeks to spur action on the UK’s sustainable finance priorities by serving as a resource and inspiration for the nation’s policymakers at this critical moment. It intends to spark dialogues and actions to deliver a competitive, thriving, net-zero Britain.
David Carlin, Founder of Cambium Global Solutions & Visiting Research Fellow, King’s Business School
22 July 2024
A climate finance policy playbook for the new UK government
A higher Capital Gains Tax rate for heavy carbon emitters and streamlined listings rules for green companies are just two of the urgent policy recommendations put forward by experts from business, finance, international organisations and academia in a new e-book.
Researchers at King’s Business School and the University of Edinburgh have compiled the individual views of nearly forty thought-leaders on the policies that the new government should prioritise in its first six months to address climate change and transform the UK into a net zero finance hub.
The book includes contributions from Bankers for Net Zero, the World Benchmarking Alliance, the Global Systems Institute, the Climate Bonds Initiative, Chapter Zero, the GARP Risk Institute and PWC as well as several leading universities and contains 25 specific, actionable recommendations. These range from providing stronger market incentives for green finance, to measures focussing on the built environment and power infrastructure.
The recommendations include:
- Establishing an Office of Sustainability Planning to develop richer and more realistic climate risk scenarios that might materialise over a 5 to10 year horizon
- Higher rates of capital gains tax for high-carbon emitters and polluters
- Mandating environmental considerations within the AI regulatory framework announced in the King’s Speech
- Encouraging green emerging market listings in London through streamlined listing processes and improved tax treatment
- Issuing the first developed market sustainability-linked sovereign bond and the first dedicated adaptation sovereign bond, and the expansion of the Green Gilt programme
- Providing capital and guarantees through UK Export Finance to help British innovators find markets for decarbonising and climate-adaptation technologies
- Aligning UK insolvency laws with net zero objectives to catalyse innovation in carbon-efficient projects.
- Simplified planning and approval processes for green energy infrastructure and green gigafactories
- Increasing the carbon price to support the transition to a low carbon economy, and investing the revenues strategically in the power grid and to ensure energy price stability
We’ve pulled together a range of expert and diverse voices from the UK’s climate finance thought-leaders. While the suggestions vary, what they all have in common is a bias towards immediate action. These are all practical suggestions that the government could start work on tomorrow.
Professor David Aikman, Director of the Qatar Centre for Global Banking and Finance, King’s Business School
The e-book was edited by David Carlin, Founder of Cambium Global Solutions & Visiting Research Fellow, King’s Business School; Professor David Aikman and Dr Marc Lepere of King’s Business School; and Luca Taschini, University of Edinburgh Business School.
Several King’s researchers and Fellows also contributed essays, including Professor Jonatan Pinkse, Joseph Noss, Professor Raúl C. Rosales, Professor Sarah Bracking and Emily Farrimond.
Accelerating Transition: Climate Finance Policies To Prioritise In The First 100 Days
In this story
Director of the Qatar Centre for Global Banking & Finance
Lead in ESG & Sustainability
Research Director, Centre for Sustainable Business
Visiting Fellow, Qatar Centre for Global Banking & Finance
Professor of Climate and Society
Executive Fellow, King's Business School
Professor of Practice in Net Zero Asset Management