Investments: Environmental, Social and Governance Criteria

Baroness Altmann Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

On the point about co-operation with the United States, I will have to check and write to the noble Lord. On the FCA, in addition to developing this consumer-facing label so that people can, with transparency, understand what they are investing in, it is also looking at the question of regulating the firms and providers that look at ESG ratings and providing that information also.

[Baroness Altmann (Con)]

My Lords, I commend the Government on their commitment to green finance and on encouraging sustainable investing. Following on from the previous Question by the noble Lord, Lord Haskel, will the Minister tell us what assessment the Government have made of the impact in terms of climate change of the so-called mining of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, which, in itself, seems to have caused more greenhouse gas emissions per annum than many countries over the last year or two? Are the Government concerned about the sustainability of crypto from that perspective?

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right. We are aware of the huge energy use that can be involved in these currencies. The UK is developing a green taxonomy, which will make us the first country in the world to make disclosures aligned with our Paris and other commitments mandatory economy-wide, including the financial-services sector. That will bring transparency over the climate impacts of firms’ activities and allow the market and consumers to respond accordingly.