Public-private partnerships key to growing clean energy in the UK

In 100 days, global political, business and climate leaders will gather in Baku, Azerbaijan for COP29. The annual meeting of the COP is the culmination of a year of hard work and progress to meet our climate goals. I, together with the City companies, will be at COP29 offering our help to reach net zero.

As a country with significant oil and gas production, Azerbaijan’s role as host will be significant in how we approach the global transition to clean energy. Given the COP29 motto “In solidarity for a green world”, we will also discuss strengthening global commitments to reduce greenhouse gases, ensuring that climate action is inclusive and equitable, and – an area of of particular importance to the city – financing climate adaptation and resilience.

London is the world’s leading center for sustainable finance. Our recent report with the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) showed that UK financial institutions have almost tripled their investment in clean energy projects in just one year, to $2.3 billion in 2023.

The city is home to a wide range of green financial products and services: green bonds, environmental, social and governance (ESG) and climate-related financial instruments. And we have an ecosystem dedicated to green leadership, from strong regulatory frameworks to innovative financial products, a concentration of expertise and capital to help the global transition to a low-carbon economy.

Mobilizing the private capital and environmental expertise that the city excels at and supporting global change will deliver net zero. This will help the planet and our own prospects as innovators of the global green economy.

But unlocking net zero through financial services can also help unlock economic growth closer to home.

One of the government’s five missions is to make Britain a clean energy superpower. Only recently, I heard the Chancellor’s diagnoses regarding the state of public finances; the government doesn’t have the money to fund our own climate transition on its own – The city must help.

Working together, public and private partnerships between Westminster and the City can pave the way for green prosperity. By investing in domestic green infrastructure and engaging in research into new green technologies, we can take advantage of the huge opportunities offered by the net zero transition. The prize is vast: create new high-skilled jobs, lower costs for working families, and secure our nation’s green energy supply—all while strengthening our global reputation as THE sustainable finance center.

At the City of London Corporation, we recognize that long-term economic growth – growth that will permanently transform our country, offering radical new opportunities in every corner of the UK – is only achievable if it is sustainable. Economic growth and sustainability are two sides of the same coin, you can’t have one without the other.

In our The vision for economic growthwe suggested that political parties anchor the UK as a leader in sustainable finance to deliver the economic growth we all know we need. With the right conditions – the public-private partnership – we can unlock the billions that will be needed for our own transition.

We know this partnership model can work because City Corporation’s bold Climate Action Strategy has done just that. Our investment in a solar farm in Dorset supports green jobs, provides us with renewable electricity and saves us over £3 million a year. As a country, we should be unashamedly ambitious, invest in green technology, reduce emissions and reach net zero.

As we look forward to COP29, here in the Square Mile we have the expertise and funding to support people, companies and countries with their net zero goals. By putting ourselves at the center of this global net zero movement, we can attract additional investment to the city and country, bringing high-skilled jobs and economic growth that will transform our outlook and our carbon footprint.

After AM city

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