On April 22, the House of Commons Treasury Committee (Committee) published a report on net zero and the future of green finance in the UK (the Report) along with a press release.
The key recommendations proposed by the Committee to achieve net-zero in the UK by 2050 include:
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labeling financial products clearly for consumers to assess their climate impacts and make choices accordingly;
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preventing greenwashing of financial products to combat the potential to mislead consumers;
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recommending the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) should consider undertaking additional FinTech challenges to encourage innovation and tackle any remaining regulatory barriers that discourage innovative ‘green’ financial products from coming to market;
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efficiently incorporating revised remits by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to include climate change;
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reporting the proportion of pension holders who remain in default funds and the extent to which those funds are compatible with the aim to net-zero;
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issuing the UK’s first green sovereign bonds (or ‘green gilts’); and
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advising the government to outline principles on which the UK will fund its transition to net zero.