Chancellor announces Green Finance Institute and Financial Services Skills Taskforce

Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced the launch of a new Green Finance Institute and a Financial Services Skills Taskforce.

The institute will enable London to retain its status as a leader in green finance, while the industry-led taskforce will ensure that the UK’s financial services sector has access to skilled workers.

Recommendations

The Green Finance Institute will be funded by both the government and the City of London Corporation, which will work together to promote sustainable finance not only in the UK but also in other countries.

The Institute comes after the Green Finance Taskforce published a number of recommendations in March, with the creation of an institute to develop the UK Green Finance market being among the suggestions.

The government stated that the institute will play a crucial role in international engagement in financial services, particularly in emerging markets, where demand for green finance is rising rapidly.

The Financial Services Skills Taskforce will focus on helping people to develop the long-term skills needed in the financial services sector and will ensure that the sector has access to the talent that it needs to secure its future after the UK exits the EU.

Opportunities

Commenting on the benefits of the new Green Finance Institute, the City of London Corporation’s Policy Chair Catherine McGuinness said that London is already a world leader in green finance, and a key recommendation of the Green Finance Taskforce will be to ensure that we remain so for years to come.

Chancellor Philip Hammond discussed the aims for the new Financial Services Skills Taskforce in his speech, stating that the taskforce is being created “to understand and respond to changes in the shape of financial services, to ensure we meet the long-term skills needs of the sector over the coming decades and creating opportunities for the next generation.”