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MPs urge Bank of England to regulate fossil finance towards green investment

MORE than 50 cross-party MPs and peers have written to Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey encouraging him to align British finance with the government’s climate goals ahead of the Cop26 international climate summit.

The letter recommends that the bank uses the new green mandate given to it by the Treasury to help steer billions of pounds of finance away from risky fossil fuel investments and towards green, job-creating alternatives.

The signatories warn that climate change and biodiversity loss are already jeopardising the bank’s ability to meet its core objectives. They urge Mr Bailey to put its new green remit into practice “in a manner commensurate with the scale and urgency of the challenges we are facing.”

The letter will be delivered to the bank before the United Nations climate conference begins in Glasgow on October 31. 

Green MP Caroline Lucas, one of the signatories, said: “UK banks are continuing to drive the climate emergency, with our five biggest lenders pouring £227 billion into fossil fuels between 2016 and 2020. 

“After years of delay, it’s time for all of our public institutions to play their part in getting the City of London in order.”

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