LONDON, 4th June 2018 – Research and campaign group Positive Money has today welcomed the Environmental Audit Committee’s ‘Greening Finance’ report published on Monday.

The report is in line with Positive Money’s ‘A Green Bank of England’ report published in May, arguing that climate change poses a material threat to financial stability, and calling for more action from financial institutions, such as climate risk reporting.

Fran Boait, executive director of Positive Money said:

“We welcome the Environmental Audit Committee’s calls for disclosure of climate risk to be made mandatory for asset owners. As the owner of billions of pounds of assets purchased through QE, we hope the Bank of England is also encouraged to set an example by disclosing the carbon risks on its own balance sheet.

“Despite recognising the risks of climate change to financial stability, and calling for the rest of the financial sector to disclose their risks, the Bank of England has shied away from taking such action itself, and has even bought bonds in fossil fuel companies as part of corporate QE.”

“While it is extremely important that private financial institutions are also made to consider their climate risks, hardwiring the central bank for sustainability will be an essential prerequisite for mobilising the green finance required to tackle climate change”, Boait added.

Notes

For additional comment or to arrange a briefing, please contact Simon Youel on 07908 037569 or at simon.youel@positivemoney.org.uk

About Positive Money

Positive Money campaigns for a money and banking system which supports a fair, democratic and sustainable economy. Set up in the aftermath of the financial crisis, Positive Money is a not-for-profit company funded by charitable trusts and foundations, as well as small donations from its network of over 65,000 supporters.