Some of the biggest players at the heart of London’s financial community have launched the Green Finance Initiative (GFI), a long-planned effort to create a market around financial products dedicated to funding sustainable infrastructure projects.
Unveiled by the City of London Corporation in the wake of the recent COP21 climate-change conference in Paris, the GFI aims to provide a forum in which the City will collaborate with industry to raise project delivery rates and stimulate interest in related funding instruments.
The scheme has arrived as experts predict that the total market value for so-called ‘green bonds’ could soon reach $100bn – with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) highlighting the UK as a world-leading hub of green finance.
The GFI’s main objectives are to:
Marking the launch, Lord Mayor of the City of London Lord Mountevans said: “Following the important COP21 conference, this is a crucial time to build on the momentum of green finance, and it’s vital that industry is involved in this.
“Our initiative aims to support the market through practical action, allowing both London and the green finance industry to benefit from the exciting new opportunities in the market.”
In the view of UNEP executive director Achim Steiner, 2016 “is set to be the year of green finance”. He added that: “Across the world, we are seeing a growing number of countries aligning their financial systems with the sustainability imperative.”
Former City of London Mayor Sir Roger Gifford – appointed as the first GFI chair – commented: “The City of London Corporation is determined that 2016 be the year in which policymakers and practitioners convene to drive the long-term development of the UK’s green finance sector.”
He added: “The financial system we need is one that fully supports and facilitates the transition toward a low-carbon economy, and we believe London can play a leading role in this process.”