Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Penn on 2 March (HL Deb col 812) about cooperating with the government of China on a green taxonomy, what fora are these discussions are being conducted in; how any (1) progress, and (2) agreement, will be reported; and what assessment they have made of the timetable for an outcome from the process.

My comments referred to the Government’s membership of the International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF). The IPSF is a multilateral forum between policymakers on sustainable finance regulatory measures, particularly focussed on green taxonomies. Members include authorities from 18 different jurisdictions globally, including China and the European Union. The UK became a member in February 2021. In June 2020, the EU and China initiated a Working Group on taxonomies with the objective to undertake a assessment of existing taxonomies for environmentally sustainable investments, including identifying the commonalities and differences in their respective approaches and outcomes. This resulted in the publication of a report on a common ground taxonomy in November 2021.