Green Finance Institute

The UK's 23.3 million privately owned homes contributed to 20% of the country's #GreenhouseGasEmissions in 2022. Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's next steps for the Warm Homes Plan will support retrofitting UK homes to improve energy efficiency and reduce bills, but provisions need to be made for solutions to offer the low-interest loans and grants, as outlined in the Labour manifesto, to scale-up low-cost finance.    In our latest analysis, Unsecured Green Home Loans: Consumer Protection and Scale in International Markets, we look at how international innovation and consumer protection can be applied in the UK to accelerate home retrofits required for the #Decarbonisation of the built environment. Drawing on European green loan market models, the report estimates that a government-coordinated national programme in the UK could support the retrofit of up to 675,000 homes per year, exceeding the Climate Change Committee’s recommended pathway by 175,000.   Thank you to those who offered their insights and expertise including Finance & Leasing Association, Osborne Clarke, iChoosr, Febelfin, and other international contacts. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/e-bZbQ86

This week Green Finance Institute España celebrated one year of building a greener future through finance, with an event which brought together key voices from public and private sector to collaborate on mobilising private capital to drive the Spanish transition forward. Focusing on innovative, locally driven solutions, we reflected on our work in co-designing financial products for the building sector and urban regeneration.   With special thanks to keynote speakers Carla Diaz Alvarez de Toledo  and GFI Advisors Luis Terrés de Ercilla, Valentina Martínez Ferro, Juan Carlos Delrieu, Patricia García de Ponga, Alberto Toril Castro, María Folqué and congratulations to Eduardo Brunet Alvarez de Sotomayor and Claudia Gonzalez Cobos for a successful event and impactful first year of GFI Espana.

To finance a #JustTransition in the Global South and mobilise capital at scale, we need to reform existing institutions, as well as creating new ones. At COP29 in Baku, global leaders and negotiators focused on reaching an agreement on moving capital to where it is needed most, to plug the #ClimateFinance gap.   However, when climate finance is deployed in countries that most need it, the cost of capital remains high relative to countries in the Global North. Recipient countries need capital for the transition, but it needs to be low cost and support wider public policy requirements.    Our greenprint, written in collaboration with Chantal N., Rabia Transitions Initiative, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and with input from leading finance practitioners and experts from India and the UK, outlines the critical action needed to mobilise capital in service of a just transition in the Global South. We are grateful to the Laudes Foundation for their support.   Read here: https://lnkd.in/ePQVp4RH

The aspirations set out at COP29 in Baku this week, solidified by the Mansion House speech last night from the Chancellor, show a renewed commitment from the government to #SustainableFinance. Dr. Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE, CEO of the Green Finance Institute, comments on this week's events: “The only viable pathways to growth and prosperity for the global economy are those that are aligned with climate science and the preservation of nature. The Government’s commitment to implementing and delivering on the ambition set out at COP29 and Mansion House, strengthens the UK’s position as a global leader on climate action.   Building on already strong existing regulatory foundations for sustainable finance, we must now create the opportunities for both UK-based and global investors to deploy their capital. Delivering this ambition requires the public and private sectors to work together. The GFI looks forward to offering the Government our continued support and expertise.”

Climate #Adaptation is not just an economic or financial issue – it is a security and social justice issue. It is also a significant investment opportunity. For every US$1 spent on adaptation this decade, an economic benefit of US$12 could be generated.    At #COP29, countries are increasingly focused on ensuring that their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) incorporate adaptation strategies, alongside mitigating emissions, ensuring alignment with climate science, nature conservation, and the knowledge of local communities. This is an imperative for global growth and prosperity.    Alongside Dr Nicola Ranger (Environmental Change Institute (ECI), University of Oxford), Alex Kennedy (Standard Chartered) and Chantal N. (Rabia Transitions), the GFI has outlined in our “What next for mainstreaming adaptation finance in emerging markets?” paper the solutions to mobilising #ClimateFinance at pace and scale, to boost resilience to a changing climate across the globe. Read here: https://lnkd.in/e9t7BhyM

In partnership with Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group, the GFI has launched 'A greenprint for Property Linked Finance in the UK' outlining the potential for an innovative financial solution PLF to help channel billions of pounds into sustainable retrofits for commercial and residential properties in England and Wales. PLF enables access to affordable and long-term funding for environmental improvements for buildings by linking the finance to the property rather than the owner, potentially helping to bridge the £360 billion investment gap to decarbonise the UK’s building stock by 2050 – with the view to scaling it globally. To achieve this, a bespoke 'linking mechanism' is needed within the context of UK laws and regulations.  The report explores: 🔗 The possible solutions for the linking mechanism and recommends a new PLF Local Land Charge 🏨 The key features for UK PLF, a non-accelerating form of finance, linked to the property rather than the property owner  🌱 A step-by-step plan to scale PLF into a thriving market including working with pioneering financial institutions to deliver commercial PLF pilot transactions, engaging with government on introducing new primary legislation and collaborating with the whole UK property market to refine the product It follows on from research commissioned by the GFI in 2023 which identified that, if scaled, PLF could support between £52-70 billion of investment into building #Decarbonisation across England, Scotland and Wales in the residential market alone. Tried and tested in other jurisdictions, with the right backing, expertise and collaboration, PLF could become a vital solution in driving the acceleration towards the UK's #NetZero goals. For more information and to read the report, click here: https://lnkd.in/eWvXBc7X

The independent Land, Nature and Adapted Systems (LNAS) Advisory Group, has today published the first phase of its work with groundbreaking recommendations setting out how useful and usable disclosures in relation to #SustainableAgriculture, #fisheries and #aquaculture activities could be structured and disclosed to investors through their inclusion in a UK Green Taxonomy. The Green Technical Advisory Group (GTAG), from which the LNAS Advisory Group was spun off, has previously argued that the inclusion of these new sectors, alongside a focus on advocating internationally for interoperable taxonomies, could position the UK government to lead the way on how sustainable finance can support these sectors – internationally. Agriculture and fisheries technical screening criteria (TSC) have yet to be adopted into most of the fifty-one taxonomies currently in place or under development globally, including the EU taxonomy. To date no taxonomies globally have attempted to include a set of aquaculture TSC. 🚜 Agriculture is a hard to abate sector, responsible for 11% of the UK’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is the primary driver of domestic nitrous oxide (68%) and methane emissions (47%). It sits at the nexus of food, energy and water security – and so the sustainability of the sector of critical strategic importance in the UK and more widely.  🐟 The commercial fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors contributed £1.8bn approximate Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2022. Overfishing of wild populations and an increasing focus on aquaculture to manage this risk means definitions of sustainable fisheries are urgently needed to guide capital toward sustainable solutions. The second phase of the LNAS Advisory Group’s work – focused on #ClimateChange adaptation - will set out how the UK government could develop a framework for reporting, focusing both on the role of infrastructure and nature-based solutions to deliver a resilient UK economy and will be published later this year. For more information on LNAS and to read our report, click here: https://lnkd.in/e98WPVrh

We’re hiring a new analyst to join my team at Green Finance Institute - to support with delivery on all things built environment and heat decarbonisation. See details below - and happy to chat to anyone interested! Application deadline 4th November.

Innovation is vital to bridge the execution gap in delivering a net zero and climate resilient economy. However, innovation extends beyond technology; it encompasses the need to rethink policy, business and financial models to accelerate action in the real economy.   We are looking forward to exploring the multifaceted role of innovation at the Innovation Zero World Congress 2025 in April, co-chaired by our CEO Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE and Baroness Bryony Worthington.   Rhian-Mari Thomas, says: “Mobilising the financial commitments of governments and private investors to deliver a net zero and nature positive economy will require an innovative new approach to policy and finance. Our work at the Green Finance Institute demonstrates how radical collaboration and a scalable toolkit of solutions – from structured finance models to place-based finance – can deploy capital into the key sectors for net-zero and climate resilience.   We are delighted to partner with the Innovation Zero World Congress 2025 to showcase how innovation – in business, finance, technology and policy – can deliver a greener, more prosperous future.”   Will we see you there? 

The independent Land, Nature and Adapted Systems (LNAS) Advisory Group, has today published the first phase of its work with groundbreaking recommendations setting out how useful and usable disclosures in relation to #SustainableAgriculture, #fisheries and #aquaculture activities could be structured and disclosed to investors through their inclusion in a UK Green Taxonomy. The Green Technical Advisory Group (GTAG), from which the LNAS Advisory Group was spun off, has previously argued that the inclusion of these new sectors, alongside a focus on advocating internationally for interoperable taxonomies, could position the UK government to lead the way on how sustainable finance can support these sectors – internationally. Agriculture and fisheries technical screening criteria (TSC) have yet to be adopted into most of the fifty-one taxonomies currently in place or under development globally, including the EU taxonomy. To date no taxonomies globally have attempted to include a set of aquaculture TSC. 🚜 Agriculture is a hard to abate sector, responsible for 11% of the UK’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is the primary driver of domestic nitrous oxide (68%) and methane emissions (47%). It sits at the nexus of food, energy and water security – and so the sustainability of the sector of critical strategic importance in the UK and more widely.  🐟 The commercial fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors contributed £1.8bn approximate Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2022. Overfishing of wild populations and an increasing focus on aquaculture to manage this risk means definitions of sustainable fisheries are urgently needed to guide capital toward sustainable solutions. The second phase of the LNAS Advisory Group’s work – focused on #ClimateChange adaptation - will set out how the UK government could develop a framework for reporting, focusing both on the role of infrastructure and nature-based solutions to deliver a resilient UK economy and will be published later this year. For more information on LNAS and to read our report, click here: https://lnkd.in/e98WPVrh