HM Treasury has announced the appointment of an independent expert group to advise Government on standards for green investment.
The Green Technical Advisory Group (GTAG) will provide independent, non-binding advice to the Government on developing and implementing a Green Taxonomy in the UK context.
The Group will oversee the Government’s delivery of a Green Taxonomy – a framework setting the bar for investments that can be defined as environmentally sustainable.
By clearly defining which economic activities count as environmentally sustainable, the UK Green Taxonomy will clamp down on greenwashing – unsubstantiated or exaggerated claims that an investment is environmentally friendly - and make it easier to understand how a firm is impacting the environment.
GTAG will be chaired by the Green Finance Institute and made up of financial and business stakeholders, taxonomy and data experts, and subject matter experts drawn from academia, NGOs, the Environment Agency and the Committee on Climate Change.
The list of members includes the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association, Principles for Responsible Investment, Climate Bonds Initiative, Centre for Greening Finance and Investment and the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures.
In addition to the strategic GTAG group that will advise on cross-cutting issues, the Government will also establish GTAG sub-groups where appropriate to provide specific technical expertise on a given sector (e.g. on energy. The sub-groups will include additional technical experts to those in the strategic group.
GTAG’s role will be to provide non-binding advice to HMG on market, regulatory and scientific considerations for developing and implementing a UK Taxonomy which facilitates more informed investment decisions. This includes advising on:
- Approach to developing a UK Taxonomy that is usable and practicable for financial and non-financial firms.
- UK Taxonomy requirements which drive informed decision-making for investors whilst placing a proportionate burden on business.
- Drawing together scientific and subject matter expertise to assist HMG in determining TSC.
- The rationale, implications and recommendations for any deviations from existing international frameworks or taxonomies.
- How to deal with and manage any data gaps.
- How the UK Taxonomy can best support the UK’s transition to Net Zero.
- How the UK Taxonomy could be used to align and accelerate the delivery of wider HMG policy, including its Net Zero Strategy, Green Finance Strategy and 25 Year Environment Plan.
- The role the UK Taxonomy could play in tracking green financial flows.
In addition, the Group may also advise on other issues if identified by the Government. The GTAG’s role is purely advisory - it will feed into but not replace the Government’s policy development process.
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