The Green+ Gilt: How the UK could issue sovereign bonds that deliver climate action and social renewal

Published on
1st October 2020

Together with the Green Finance Institute and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), we published a proposal for a Green+ Gilt that emphasises the strategic potential for a green sovereign bond to scale up the UK’s drive to a net-zero carbon economy with well-defined social and economic benefits.

The proposal, presented to the UK government, has the support of more than 40 asset owners and investors, representing organisations with assets and assets under management of more than £10 trillion, and influential professional bodies.

The UK’s plans to issue a series of green sovereign bonds, announced in November 2020, has the potential to deliver a resilient, net-zero economy that will bring a range of positive social benefits in terms of jobs, skills and regional revitalisation.

It will reinforce the UK’s position as a global leader in sustainable finance ahead of its hosting of COP-26 and the G7 summit and will underpin economic recovery as the country moves through the current pandemic.

We are currently working on a international proposal for a Green+ Gilt.

The investors, asset owners and organisations who are publicly supporting our proposal are:

Affirmative Investment Management

Allianz Global Investors

AXA Investment Managers

Association for Financial Markets in Europe

Association of British Insurers 

Barclays

BlackRock

Brunel Pension Partnership Ltd

Carbon Trust

Coal Pension Trustees

Confederation of British Industry (CBI)

City of London Corporation

Credit Suisse

Columbia Threadneedle Investments

NEST

NN Investment Partners

Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC)

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), UK

Impax Asset Management

Legal & General

Legal & General Investment Management

London Stock Exchange Group

NatWest

Ninety One

Pension Protection Fund

Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)

QBE Insurance

Schroders

ShareAction

TheCityUK

UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF)

Related files

The Green+ Gilt: How the UK could issue sovereign bonds that deliver climate action and social renewal

File published on 1st October 2020