Chair of the Environment Agency statement on the Green Finance Strategy

I’m delighted to see the launch of the Green Finance Strategy and we look forward to working closely with the Green Finance Institute to further its aims, particularly on climate resilience. The joint working group with regulators on climate-related financial disclosure will drive businesses to do more by ensuring investors take better account of climate risks.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report ranks extreme weather events number 1. This presents a massive investment opportunity in technology, infrastructure, and expertise to protect people and businesses. The International Trade Secretary recently announced UK Export Finance and the Environment Agency will work together to help UK suppliers with expertise in adaptation deliver infrastructure projects and services around the world. We want to build international partnerships and position the UK supply chain at the forefront of this market.

A few years ago, the Environment Agency Pension Fund set up the Transition Pathway Initiative with the Church of England National Investing Bodies. The TPI, run out of the Grantham Institute at the London School of Economics, assesses how companies are preparing for the transition to a low-carbon economy. It is now supported by asset owners and managers with over $14 trillion combined Assets Under Management and Advice.

Last year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said there are just 12 years to bring global temperature rise within 1.5°C of pre-industrial levels. So, our Pension Fund has recently been asking major companies what they are doing to prepare for physical climate impacts. Convincing people to participate in a pension fund scheme means asking for their trust over the long term. We need confidence that companies we invest in are sufficiently protecting assets and supply chains, so our 40,000 beneficiaries retire into a world worth living in.