Proposed green investment bank elicits mixed reaction

A government-commissioned report has called for a green investment bank to be set up to raise funds for transitioning the UK to a low-carbon economy.

The report, which was produced by a panel chaired by former investment banker Bob Wigley, stated that the bank could consolidate £185m a year spent on green initiatives via government-backed organisations.

This could mean dissolving the not-for-profit Carbon Trust and directing its £100m of annual funds to the bank. Approximately £55m a year would be steered away from the Energy Technologies Institute and the Technology Strategy Board would be stripped of its £30m annual remit for low-carbon technology programmes.

The report also suggested that the bank could raise money through public funding strategies by, for example, offering tax-free savings accounts. It was estimated that these ‘green individual savings accounts’ could raise about £2bn a year if they capture 10 per cent of the market.

This would raise some of the investment required to meet UK climate change and renewable energy targets, which the report estimates will reach to £550bn between now and 2020.