The Government will not proceed with an UK Green Taxonomy.

As part of today’s Mansion House announcements, the Government has announced that it will not be creating an independent framework for sustainable investments and instead focus on other areas of green regulation.

Having set out to “deliver a world-leading sustainable finance framework” the Government haven’t.

The official report from HM Treasury notes: “After careful consideration of the evidence, the Government has concluded that a UK Taxonomy would not support the Government’s vision for the sector, and that work to develop a UK Taxonomy should therefore not proceed.”

Gemma Woodward, head of responsible investment at Quilter Cheviot commented: “The Government’s decision not to proceed with an UK Green Taxonomy may look on the surface as if it is abandoning its ambitions to lead on sustainable finance. However, this is far from the case given recent days has seen three consultations issued focused on sustainability reporting, a registration scheme for providers of assurance for sustainability related financial disclosures and transition planning.”

The Government has promised to provide a ‘road map of future regulatory changes’ as part of the next consultation phases, and it is hoped that it will be a less rocky road than so far.

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