How banks and government are working together to achieve net zero in the UK

In the UK, the collaboration between banks and policymakers is crucial for accelerating the energy transition. The financial sector in the UK managed assets worth over 9 trillion UK pounds (11.3 trillion USD) as of 2020, with a considerable portion needing realignment towards sustainable investments to meet the 2050 net zero goal. The Climate Change Committee, an independent advisory board to the UK government, estimates 50 billion UK pounds, or US$60 billion per year, is needed to meet net zero goals.
Heather Buchanan is co-founder of Bankers For Net Zero, an initiative aiming to involve banks with governments to make better investment and policy decisions for the energy transition. One significant need for investment is the retrofitting of the housing stock; over half of the UK’s homes are old and inefficient. This a major challenge for banks. With host David Banmiller, Heather explores the financial implications of decarbonizing financed emissions from all banking products by 2050.
Plus, the importance of Energy Performance Certificates and measuring efficiency, the financial incentives to de-risk clean energy investments, and how B4NZ is working to engage banks, government and NGOs to drive us to net zero. Collaboration is crucial, but it’s a constant struggle.
For more information visit woodmac.com/podcasts. The Interchange is back at Wood Mackenzie’s Solar Energy and Storage Summit, in San Francisco on June 12. To secure your ticket visit woodmac.com/events/solar-energy-storage-summit.

In this episode:

00:00:08: Importance of collaboration between banks and policymakers for energy transition
00:00:43: About Bankers for Net Zero initiative
00:01:20: Discussion begins about financial community involvement in energy transition
00:01:35: Introduction and milestones of Bankers for Net Zero
00:04:19: Focus area for Bankers for Net Zero
00:06:06: Challenges faced in housing issue and retrofit issue
00:08:33: Introduction to National Retrofit Hub and role of energy performance certificate
00:10:40: Ideas to de-risk financial burden of energy efficiency
00:12:24: Coordinating energy efficiency on a larger scale
00:14:41: Importance of convincing constituents
00:15:22: Role of communities in the energy efficiency transition
00:16:20: Designing policy to support the energy efficiency efforts
00:18:01: Importance and issues of EPC in retrofitting
00:20:00: Balancing energy security and costs
00:23:35: The Role of Financial Institutions & SME's
00:25:50: Changes to GHG Protocols
00:27:04: Introduction to Project Perseus
See Privacy Policy at art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.