Highlights

• Delay in UK transition finance group as regulators search for a qualified chairperson.
• Draft guidelines and a playbook released to help investors fund the path to net-zero emissions.
• Government shelves Transition Finance Lab, though industry interest in the council’s work remains undiluted.

The launch of a UK transition finance working group has been put on ice after regulators failed to find a suitable chairperson.

The group was meant to sit within the Climate Financial Risk Forum (CFRF), which is overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Its role would be to set transition finance metrics that help investors measure how money is channelled toward businesses moving toward net-zero emissions.

The idea for this new body came from the Transition Finance Market Review (TFMR), which was created to advise the government on expanding climate finance.

Read More: UK Govt Says UK Taxonomy Is Ineffective for Green Transition

The TFMR has since been replaced by the Transition Finance Council, which confirmed that the initiative is delayed because no suitable chair has been found. The council called on industry participants to put forward a candidate and to contribute ideas for developing these finance metrics.

Although this setback has slowed one recommendation, the council reported that about 40 organisations have already shown interest in joining the group once it begins. The report also revealed that the government has put aside another TFMR proposal for a Transition Finance Lab, a project meant to test new climate finance methods.

Despite these delays, some progress has been made. The council has published draft guidelines on transition finance and a playbook to help investors consider climate factors in sectoral transition plans.

Also Read: Climate Risks 'Deprioritised' Under Bailey, Say Former BoE Staff

These documents are designed to guide financial institutions that wish to support the transition to a net-zero economy.

A second consultation on the guidelines is planned before a final version is released in March 2026.

Industry voices remain optimistic. Maria Nazarova-Doyle, global head of sustainable investment at IFM Investors, said these documents will help investors structure their funding for the transition to net zero, although further work is needed.

Faith Ward, who leads the council’s working group on scaling transition finance and is the chief responsible investment officer at Brunel Pension Partnership, noted that interest from investors shows there is wide backing for the council’s ongoing projects.

Also Read: FCA Plans to Relax Climate Reporting Rules for Financial Firms

The report coincides with the UK government’s consultation on climate transition plan requirements for private companies, which closes this week.

Ends/

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Source: IPE