Having committed itself to net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 in June, the UK Government published its Green Finance Strategy the following month. This document sets out a detailed plan for greening finance, financing clean growth and seizing the opportunity to establish the UK as a global leader in green finance. It is very clear that green finance is fast becoming one of the most important themes for financial institutions and that adapting business models to embrace it will not just be a source of competitive advantage, but a regulatory necessity.

The role of the regulators will be crucial in greening the financial system. The Bank of England/PRA has already established the Climate Finance Risk Forum, co-founded the Network for Greening the Financial System and promoted the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, which was set up by Mark Carney in his role as FSB chair. For its part, the FCA has published a discussion paper on Climate Change and Green Finance, joined the IOSCO Sustainable Finance Network and launched a discussion paper on Building a Regulatory Framework for Effective Stewardship.  

The Climate Risk and Green Finance Regulatory Summit will examine how the Green Finance Strategy is going to be implemented by the UK Government and financial regulators. It will clarify the practical steps that financial institutions need to be taking now in order to ensure that they are prepared and fully compliant. It will also examine the new opportunities that this seismic shift in finance will offer.

Topics that will be covered include:

• Making green finance markets work to the benefit of the consumer
• Governance, the role of the board and senior management responsibility 
• Towards best practice in disclosure and reporting
• Climate change risk management and operational resilience
• Best practice in scenario analysis
• Sharing best practice on greening the financial system across borders
• Catalysing the growth of the green bond market – taxonomy, a green bond standard, data availability and verification, and methodologies for low carbon indices
• Financing the transition to low carbon infrastructure – the role of public-private partnerships   
• Mobilising mainstream finance – the potential for sustainable investments and ESG