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The Green Finance Institute (GFI) has confirmed it is working with Defra to deliver a body of research outlining nature-related financial risk estimates and the impact that the climate and ecological crises could have on the UK economy.
The GFI claims the first-of-its-kind analysis will uncover the materiality of nature and how natural capital can impact financial decision making, with a focus on biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. The research will attempt to spell out the financial impact that nature could have on UK businesses and financial institutions.
The Green Finance Institute’s ‘Financing Nature Recovery UK’ report found that planned public spending on nature conservation and restoration in the UK for 2022-2032 is up to £97bn short of the levels needed to deliver commitments made by the UK Government and devolved governments.
Green Finance Institute and Defra to work on nature-related financial risk estimates for businesses
The UK Government has confirmed plans for water companies found to be polluting the environment to face “unlimited” fines, with funds raised set to be reinvested in a new water restoration fund.
The measures form part of a new Plan for Water from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), published today (4 April).
As had been agreed to by water regulator Ofwat earlier this week, the Plan includes a requirement for water companies to accelerate the delivery of key projects intended to improve water quality, boost water security and/or conserve and restore nature. A total of £1.6bn worth of work has been brought forward; shovels will now need to be in the ground by April 2025 and projects completed by 2030.
A total of 31 projects will be accelerated due to this change. These include £1.1bn of projects to reduce storm overflows and £160m of projects to reduce nutrient pollution resulting from sectors including agriculture and construction.
Plan for Water: Defra touts unlimited fines for polluting water companies
Global sales of heat pumps increased by 11% year-on-year in 2022, with a steeper increase of 40% recorded across EU member states.
That is according to a new briefing from the International Energy Agency (IEA), published as part of its ongoing stocktake of the global energy transition in the run-up to the next UN climate conference in Dubai this winter.
The briefing confirms that, for the second year running, heat pump sales witnessed unprecedented double-digit growth.
The uptick in sales was found to be strongest in the EU, largely due to the bloc’s RePowerEU Plan, tabled to end Russian oil and gas imports by the late 2020s. RePowerEU includes a target for 20 million heat pumps to be installed across the bloc by 2026, then a further 30 million by 2030. Meeting these targets would require deployment rates to at least double.
IEA: Heat pump sales reached record highs in 2022, with Europe leading the way