Bankers for NetZero – banks sign up to steer UK green recovery
21st July 2020 | Recycling
Barclays and Triodos have been joined by Tide, Handelsbanken and the Ecology Building Society in becoming the first banks to sign up to a new Bankers for NetZero commitment. The initiative will see banks lead cross-sector discussions with businesses and policymakers to outline ways to de-risk and unlock capital to assist with the green recovery.
Bankers for NetZero is being led by Volans – found by John Elkington – the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fair Business Banking and consultants Re:Pattern. Barclays has pledged to become a net-zero business by 2050, under a new climate policy which covers both direct operations and finance allocated externally. Under the new collaborative initiative, the bank will now assist others in the net-zero transition. Barclays’ chairman Nigel Higgins said, “With thanks to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking, we support the objective of the Bankers for NetZero initiative. As the first bank to set an ambition to be net-zero by 2050, Barclays takes seriously the notion that banks can, and should, play a leading role in tackling climate change.
Bankers for NetZero
“The transition to a low carbon economy is one of the most complex challenges we face, and it will require close collaboration between both the private and public sector to get there. We hope that Bankers for NetZero can make a significant contribution to that goal.”
The companies are now engaging with the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority on a set of recommendations and they are being supported by The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative and the UK’s Green Finance Institute. Bankers for NetZero will release a white paper listing initial recommendations later this year.
Triodos Bank UK’s chief executive Bevis Watts said, “As a bank founded on the mission of protecting and promoting quality of life for all, we feel a responsibility to work with the wider banking sector to reinvent our industry, fit for the challenges we now face, and responsible for the impacts we have. That’s why we’re pleased to be part of the Bankers for NetZero initiative.”
More information available on the website below
https://www.edie.net/news/6/Bankers-for-Net-Zero–Banks-sign-up-to-steer-UK-green-recovery/