Assessing the Green Finance Boom: Prospects for a Market-led Sustainable Future?

Green finance now forms a key plank of the UK finance industry’s contribution to the campaign against climate change. There has been a huge global demand for green bonds, with the market raising $95bn in 2016 and on track to reach issuance of $123bn in 2017, according to Bloomberg. It has prominent supporters, including the Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, who recently claimed that “Green finance is a major opportunity…[increasing] the prospects for an environmentally sustainable recovery in global growth.”

The idea is a simple one: to make and win the business case for sustainable investments that generate environmental benefits, leading to a low-carbon, climate resilient and resource-efficient economy. This event comes at an exciting time - with green finance taking off in the UK. For its supporters, this rapid growth in sustainable investment is cause for celebration. However, its expansion also invites reflection on what exactly constitutes ‘green’ finance? This public panel event will bring together leading academics, practitioners and business leaders in the UK to discuss the status of green finance today. The panel will survey what exactly constitute ‘green’ finance? Can green finance offer a solution for investors, customers and regulators focused on fulfilling their social and environmental duties? What are the biggest challenges facing the green finance boom in the UK? What kinds of instruments are lacking in the market and what will the future of innovation in this sector look like?

Panellists:

• Kari Aina Eik, Co-Chair of U4SSC, United for Smart Sustainable Cities
• Michael Grubb, Professor of Energy and Climate Change, UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources
• Pooma Kimis, Managing Director, OMFIF
• Julia Prescot, Meridiam Chief Strategy Officer
• Isabelle Laurent, Deputy Treasurer and Head of Funding of EBRD

Chair: Karina Luchinkina, GGI Advisory Board Member and Co-Founder of BioEnergy 

The event is open to all, but to avoid disappointment, please Register.

Event convened by UCL Global Governance Institute, in association with the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum