Insurance law expert Elaine Quinn of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law, attended the launch of the strategy at the third annual Green Finance Summit in London. She said that the policy initiatives were greeted with "overwhelming support" from industry attendees and speakers.
"Businesses and industry leaders were reminded that they have a huge responsibility for action, and cannot hide behind the excuse of slow progress on policy change from government and regulators," she said. "PRA [Prudential Regulation Authority] green policy advisor Lauren Anderson said that 'regulatory pace should not hold the industry back', and reminded regulated firms that the PRA requires an updated senior management function for climate change by mid-October."
"For insurers, one big challenge in moving forward is the EU prudential supervisory regime, Solvency II. Steve Waygood of Aviva Investors said that Pillar 1 of the regime, which includes minimum capital requirements, had been drafted via an 'old climate lens' and 'tipped towards an old economy', preventing greater investment by insurers in the green economy. He said that UK regulators may look to re-weigh Pillar 1 as their own green finance commitments become clarified," she said.
Quinn added that while speakers including chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Hoesung Lee and Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland and a leading climate change campaigner, had "commended the UK for its leadership in the climate space", they had also "made clear that privileged, more climate-resilient countries - and the businesses and industries within them - have the greatest responsibility for urgent action".
Earlier this year, the UK parliament declared an 'environment and climate emergency' in response to demands from campaigners. The UK government has also set a target of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and is to commission a Treasury review into where the costs of doing so will fall across the economy as part of the new policy proposals.