Scottish Taskforce for Green and Sustainable Financial Services to launch

A new taskforce is set to be launched to make Scotland a “leading hub” for environmentally friendly financing.

The Scottish Taskforce for Green and Sustainable Financial Services will be launched at an event on Monday, featuring finance secretary Kate Forbes and former Bank of England governor Mark Carney.

Mr Carney, who is now the UN special envoy for climate action and finance, welcomed the launch of the group, which will be chaired by David Pitt Watson.

The Scottish Government has said the group will work over the next three years – managed by the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) – bringing together the finance sector and regulators to implement roadmaps created by the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero.

The roadmaps lay out how much finance is needed to work towards net-zero by 2050, including in wind power and chargers for electric vehicles.

Mr Carney said: “As we emerge from COP26, the focus must now be on converting net-zero commitments into transparent action plans with robust targets. That is why, as chair of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, I welcome the launch of this new taskforce.

“It presents a unique opportunity, at the national level, for stakeholders active in one of the world’s oldest financial centres to work together to demonstrate leadership in defining and implementing the steps required to align with a net-zero future.”

Forbes said green financing would be a “cornerstone” of the Scottish Government’s decade-long national strategy for economic transformation.

“I am looking forward to working with the taskforce to identify the next steps to develop Scotland into a leading hub for green and sustainable financial services,” she added.

“Following on from the success of Glasgow hosting COP26, this is another example of the Scottish Government’s ambition to reach net-zero – and leverage all the economic opportunities the transition presents – as quickly as possible.

“This taskforce will provide global leadership by implementing the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero in a way that supports our hugely successful financial service industry.”

Mr Pitt Watson, who is also a member of the global steering group of GEFI, said COP26 “presents an opportunity to make Scotland globally competitive as a green and sustainable finance centre”.