COP26: UK companies will have to publish net-zero transition plans

Rishi Sunak has set out plans for the UK to become the world’s first net-zero aligned financial centre. 

In a speech on Finance Day at COP26, the Chancellor has welcomed climate commitments from private companies covering $130 trillion of financial assets.

These commitments could help to fund the net-zero transition, including the move away from coal, the shift to electric cars and planting more trees. 

Convening the largest ever meeting of finance leaders on climate change, Rishi Sunak is also set to announce that under new proposals, there will be new requirements for UK financial institutions and listed companies to publish net-zero transition plans that detail how they will adapt and decarbonise as the UK moves towards to a net-zero economy by 2050.

To guard against greenwashing, a science-based ‘gold standard’ for transition plans will be drawn up by a new Transition Plan Taskforce, composed of industry and academic leaders, regulators, and civil society groups.

In his opening keynote at Finance Day, Mr Sunak hailed the progress made to ‘rewire the entire global financial system for net-zero,’ with around 40% of the world’s financial assets now being aligned with the climate goals in the Paris Agreement.

These commitments come from over 450 firms from all parts of the financial industry, based in 45 countries across six continents, and have been delivered through the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ).

The UK will also seek to address barriers to finance faced by developing countries with a series of new green initiatives funded from its international climate finance (ICF) commitment, including £100 million to respond to recommendations from the UK co-chaired Taskforce on Access to Climate Finance to make it faster and easier for developing countries to access finance for their climate plans.

Photo by Matt Palmer