Labour plots 'new banking ecosystem' to tackle climate emergency

... In order to fully decarbonise the economy, McDonnell said Labour would marshal the resources and levers of power available to HM Treasury, as well as strengthen regulatory powers and priorities for the Bank of England (BofE) in order to unlock investment needed for a 'Green Industrial Revolution'. He reiterated Labour plans for to set up a system of national and regional investment banks to spend £250bn over the next decade on projects such as solar farms, zero carbon transport networks, green home retrofits, and tidal lagoons, which he said would be funded through government bonds.

The speech follows previously announced plans to rewrite the Treasury's Green Book in order to tackle Whitehall's "short-termist economic philosophy", which McDonnell today suggested would ensure the government takes into account the costs of both action and inaction on climate change. McDonnell also said Labour would seek to look beyond the Treasury by taking action to force the private and banking sector to take action to tackle climate risks and shift spending towards the net zero transition.

He revealed plans to set up a Sustainable Investment Board that would bring together the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Business Secretary, and the Bank of England Governor to oversee productive investment across the UK with a specific responsibility for meeting climate targets.

"Let's set out the range of government resources to be made available," he said. "Leaving it to the market just won't succeed."...

https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3077836/labour-plots-new-banking-ecosystem-to-tackle-climate-emergency