The UK is investing £10m in a new national green finance research centre that will advise lenders, investors and insurers, enabling them to make environmentally sustainable decisions, and support a greener global economy.

For a long time there have been complaints that there is a lack of robust data and analytics in the sector. Armed with better information, underpinned by science, financial institutions around the world will be much better placed to make decisions that contribute to a more sustainable planet.

This will help financial institutions shift money away from risky activities that harm the environment, such as coal-fired power and deforestation, and towards activities that are less harmful, such as renewable power and sustainable agriculture.

The UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment (CGFI) will be funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and led by the University of Oxford.

New physical hubs in Leeds and London will support companies and start-ups commercialise products that can green global finance, including tools that measure storm and flood risk facing properties or the pollution created by companies and the liabilities that result. The Centre will work with finance professions, such as the Chartered Bankers Institute and Chartered Financial Analysts UK, to ensure that every professional financial decision takes climate change into account.

Other institutions will form part of the new national centre, including the Universities of Bristol, Leeds, Reading, and Imperial College, as well as The Alan Turing Institute and the Satellite Applications Catapult, and the Science and Technology Facilities Council. In the summer a full range of financial institution and corporate partnerships will be announced.

Work will begin in April, ahead of this year’s COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow. The CGFI will deliver on commitments made in the UK Government’s 2019 Green Finance Strategy, and the announcement signals the UK’s commitment to using its global finance sector to support the transition to a net zero carbon and nature positive future.

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