The government has unveiled £10 million in funding for new green finance research hubs in a bid to position Leeds and London as “global centres for green finance”.
The new UK Centre for Green Finance and Investment will begin work in April 2021. The physical hubs opening several months later, led by a number of UK institutions including the University of Oxford, the University of Leeds and Imperial College London.
The hubs will provide data and analytics to financial institutions and services such as banks, lenders, investors and insurers around the world to better support their investment and business decisions by considering the impact on the environment.
The UK Centre for Green Finance and Investment will provide banks with the latest environmental and scientific intelligence to help companies of all sizes anticipate and adapt to the risks posed by climate change, the government said, adding that the research will also help to create new products and services that tackle climate change.
The two hubs are also to attract and develop new green finance talent from around the world to the cities.
Energy minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the UK won’t reach its net zero target without “mobilising private capital and unleashing the power of the free market”, adding the new hubs will encourage financial services to “turn the tide of their investments and focus on sectors and companies that have a smaller environmental footprint”.
