Documents to download

The UK Government has defined green finance as including private sector investments in technologies, infrastructure and start-ups which assist in the creation of jobs, the expansion of businesses and the development of economic growth, whilst reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The G20’s Green Finance Study Group (GFSG) has described green finance as financing investments that provide environmental benefits in the broader context of environmentally sustainable development.

This Briefing outlines what green finance is, recent government policies designed to promote it and finishes with an examination of the potential effects of climate change on the UK’s financial sector, with a particular focus on the work of the Bank of England. 

Documents to download

Related posts

  • Planning and Infrastructure Bill: HL Bill 110 of 2024–25

    The Planning and Infrastructure Bill would make changes to the system for approving major infrastructure projects, planning committees and nature recovery. It would also make changes to electricity and transport infrastructure processes, development corporations, spatial development strategies, and compulsory purchase. The government intends the bill to help grow the economy by enabling important infrastructure and homes to be built more quickly. Some parts of the bill, particularly those related to nature recovery, have attracted criticism from opposition parties and external bodies.

    Planning and Infrastructure Bill: HL Bill 110 of 2024–25

  • Government’s ‘green book’: Review and reforms

    The Government’s ‘green book’ is guidance on how to appraise public sector policies, programmes and projects. In January 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced a review of the green book. The review’s conclusions were published in June 2025 and are designed to improve the effectiveness of public sector appraisal. The Treasury will release an updated green book in early 2026.

    Government’s ‘green book’: Review and reforms

  • Wildfires: Reducing the risks and mitigating the effects

    Wildfires can harm people and ecosystems and damage property and the environment. Almost all wildfires in the UK are the result of accidental or deliberate acts by humans. Their frequency and severity have been increasing in recent years, with the area burned so far in 2025 already setting records. The National Fire Chiefs Council has called for more resourcing, consistency and coordination to mitigate the effects of future wildfires.

    Wildfires: Reducing the risks and mitigating the effects