Select committee: Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 19
First Report - The financial sector and the UK's net zero transition
Published 29 Nov 2023
Paragraph 111
Environmental Audit Committee The financial sector and the UK’s net zero transition All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We recommend that the Government seek to introduce the UK green taxonomy as soon as possible. That taxonomy should include a spectrum of definitions—‘fifty shades of green’, as one of our witnesses put it. During the period of voluntary reporting against the green taxonomy, the Government should monitor and report quarterly on progress, to optimise its implementation and ensure that it becomes mandatory no less than two years after the beginning of the voluntary period.
From: Environmental Audit Committee, First Report - The financial sector and the UK's net zero transition (HC 277), paragraph 111, 29 November 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 23 February 2024 (deadline 29 January 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government sets out its position on the financial sector and net zero, defending continued North Sea licensing, setting out plans for consultations on transition plans and voluntary carbon markets, and confirming a UK carbon border adjustment mechanism by 2027.
- On a date to end new North Sea licensing, it states it has "already considered fixing an end date" and "decided not to pursue this approach", citing a 2021 review and a climate compatibility checkpoint.
- On transition plans, it says its "upcoming consultation will consider the UK's approach to transition plans", including the role of the Transition Plan Taskforce's Disclosure Framework.
- On the green taxonomy, it will introduce a voluntary testing period "for at least two reporting years before considering the introduction of mandatory obligations".
- On voluntary carbon markets, it will consult on next steps and "intend[s] to publish the consultation in early 2024".