Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to implement net-zero carbon emissions transition plans on a mandatory basis to avoid (1) regulatory uncertainty, and (2) delays, in transitioning London to a net-zero financial centre, as part of the Greening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investing, published in October.

At COP26 Finance Day the Chancellor announced that the UK will move towards making transition plans mandatory. Initially, asset managers, regulated asset owners and listed companies will need to publish a transition plan or provide an explanation if they have not done so.

Recognising that there is not yet an agreed standard for transition plans, the Chancellor also announced that the Government will set up a Transition Plan Taskforce. This will bring together the best of British industry and academia with regulators and the third sector to develop recommendations on transition plan disclosures in the UK.

As standards for transition plans emerge, the Government and regulators will take steps to incorporate these into the UK’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and strengthen requirements to encourage consistency in published plans and increased adoption by 2023.