UK celebrate as a global leader in green finance
The UK government has received two awards from the Climate Bonds Initiative, celebrating its work as a global leader in green finance.
HM Treasury was today recognised for its global leadership in green finance by winning two honours at the 2022 Climate Bond Awards – which celebrates best practice and innovation in green finance.
The UK collected the Largest Green Sovereign Bond and the Sovereign Green Market Pioneer award for its work on green finance in 2021. The first honour celebrates the UK’s inaugural green gilt issuance in September 2021, issued by the UK Debt Management Office, which raised £10 billion to fund projects such as offshore wind – and was the largest inaugural green bond issuance ever undertaken by a sovereign.
The judges also recognised the UK’s innovative approach to green finance, including through establishing the world-first Green Savings Bonds, which allow savers to deposit money with the government, with the government then allocating the same amount for investment in green projects such as offshore wind.
Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen said:
I am delighted that the UK’s innovative approach to tackling climate change has been recognised at the Climate Bond Awards.
The UK’s green bond is a key pillar of our green finance agenda and will help reinforce the UK’s position as a leader in sustainable finance, and our continued commitment to make the UK the world’s first net zero aligned financial centre and net zero economy by 2050.
The UK became the first major economy to require fully mandatory reporting on climate-related risks and opportunities across the economy, in line with the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The UK is also developing the gold standard for private sector transition plans through the Transition Plan Taskforce.