The Labour Party has again made commitments that it will help finance new battery plants if it wins the next general election.

The EU has made a proposal of a new fund that could aid developing nations as they cope with climate change.

There are no explicit policies aiming to end fossil fuel expansion in surveyed UK pension funds, and only 40 per cent have published 2025 targets to reduce emissions.

The carbon footprint of emissions financed by pensions from FTSE100 companies is seven times higher than the total reported emissions of those companies.

Virgin Money has launched the first dedicated fund to support farmers in their transition to net-zero offering lower cost loans that can be used to invest in changes which reduce on-farm emissions. The £200m Agri E Fund is the first fund offered in the UK dedicated to supporting farmers with the investment and carbon audits required to help them achieve their net-zero target.

There were cheers across the tables as Barclays and Refuge were awarded the Partnership with a National Charity Award, while Greene King and Macmillan Cancer Support took home the Best Scheme to Encourage Staff Fundraising – long-term partners award.

The Berkeley Foundation has committed a further £1m to The Money House, run by charity MyBnk.

Congratulations to all the shortlisted companies and the winners at the 2021 Awards. In a year where the efforts of organisations have been needed by so many, it was wonderful to see so many great schemes to help support innovation, communities and charities.

So, finally a deal was done. Not quite the one hoped for, but better than the worst fears. Something of a holding pattern perhaps, as even the effervescent Boris Johnson admitted as he said it had scored six out of ten.

The FCA is publishing a Discussion Paper to coincide with COP26 Finance Day, inviting views on potential criteria to classify and label investment products.

Major demand pushed the Government’s green gilts sale to raise £10bn, the largest inaugural green issuance by any sovereign, with the largest ever order book for a sovereign green transaction. A second issuance will take place later in the year.

Johnson Controls has issued its first sustainability-linked bond in an offering of $500m in ten-year senior notes.

Make My Money Matter (MMMM) has called on the UK’s largest defined benefit (DB) schemes to commit to “robust net zero targets” in a letter that is the latest step in its industry-wide push for climate action.

Triodos Bank UK is partnering with Paces Sheffield, a charity for children and adults with Cerebral Palsy and other neurological motor disorders, to raise £1.5m through a new bond offer on the Triodos Crowdfunding platform.

Make My Money Matter (MMMM) has teamed up with Count Us In and announced the launch of the Green Pensions Charter, which will campaign to ensure pensions are invested more sustainably.