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 transition00:00:43: About Bankers for Net Zero initiative00:01:20: Discussion begins about financial community involvement in energy transition00:01:35: Introduction and milestones of Bankers for Net Zero00:04:19: Focus area for Bankers for Net Zero00:06:06: Challenges faced in housing issue and retrofit issue00:08:33: Introduction to National Retrofit Hub and role of energy performance certificate00:10:40: Ideas to de-risk financial burden of energy efficiency00:12:24: Coordinating energy efficiency on a larger scale00:14:41: Importance of convincing constituents00:15:22: Role of communities in the energy efficiency transition00:16:20: Designing policy to support the energy efficiency efforts00:18:01: Importance and issues of EPC in retrofitting00:20:00: Balancing energy security and costs00:23:35: The Role of Financial Institutions & SME's00:25:50: Changes to GHG Protocols00:27:04: Introduction to Project PerseusSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.