The UK’s local authorities can play a big role in ensuring the UK delivers on its 2050 net zero targets, according to a report by Innovate UK and the Green Finance Institute (GFI). ‘Mobilising local net zero investments’ identified three core challenges local authorities need to overcome: filling the investment gap by mobilising private capital alongside public finance, the need for better access to specialist financing expertise to structure innovative new public-private financial instruments, and securing technical assistance to turn concepts into investable sustainable projects. The report has introduced practical guidelines outlining net zero funding available in the short term, and calls for a survey of local authorities to identify a pipeline of green projects and the amount of finance required. Jeremy Gorelick, GFI’s Strategic Advisor, said: “The investment needed to finance the UK’s nationwide net zero transformation, estimated at £1.4 trillion by the Climate Change Committee, will require the mobilisation of private capital alongside public finance. Crowding in private investment will necessitate developing the right commercial models and structuring bankable projects that will attract investors.”
