Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Credit Unions become first in UK to align with Green Home Finance Principles

In a UK first, five credit unions, members of the Soundpound Group (a co-operative of 14 credit unions in Greater Manchester) are now offering unsecured green home loans aligned with the Green Home Finance Principles (GHFPs) – a framework that recognises the use of finance to support home electrification and energy efficiency, while promoting transparency and integrity in the market. Announced today with support from Andy Burnham, Mayor of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), this milestone marks significant progress towards making green home upgrades accessible through trusted, community finance.…

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Revenues for nature announces global effort to unlock private sector finance for nature restoration and conservation

Following global attention on the urgent need for biodiversity protection during last week’s Biodiversity Day, the Revenues for Nature (R4N) project announces it will be supporting an initial seven models globally designed to unlock up to $200 million investment into nature restoration and conservation. Through working with partners and governments, R4N, aims to demonstrate the replicability and scaling of models and mechanisms that unlock private sector investment, such as mitigation banking, payments for ecosystem services, commodity supply chain financing and more. Achieving global nature goals requires an additional $200 billion…

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Report published to unlock financing to decarbonise school estates through innovative financial mechanisms

The Green Finance Institute (GFI) in partnership with Ashden’s Let’s Go Zero campaign, the national campaign for all schools, colleges and nurseries to be zero carbon by 2030, has today launched the Financing Decarbonisation of Schools Report, outlining the barriers and potential solutions that could significantly reduce the £16.3 billion[1] investment gap to decarbonise the UK’s 32,149[2] schools. Current government funding available to schools through grant schemes and Local Authorities is insufficient to meet the £16.3 billion investment challenge. Used more strategically, public funds could catalyse private investment. However, deploying…

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Closing the Climate Finance Gap: Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance and Green Finance Institute, UK, Develop Governance Blueprint for the Sustainable Finance Committee

The Ministry of Finance, OJK, and Bank Indonesia are working to establish the Sustainable Finance Committee (SFC), as mandated by Law No. 4/2023, and are currently drafting a supporting government regulation. The Green Finance Institute (GFI), a globally recognised financial institution and expert in green finance, supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s Financial Services Centres of Expertise programme, has taken on a strategic role in Indonesia by working with the Ministry of Finance to develop a White Paper. This document will propose the governance structure for the…

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Local Climate Bond market attracts £16 million in private funding to support local authority net-zero projects

Two major private investors – Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (“Esmée Fairbairn”) and Unity Trust Bank (“Unity”) – have committed significant funding to scale the green municipal investment market (also known as Local Climate Bonds), opening new opportunities for local authorities to accelerate their net-zero projects. The commitments made reflect confidence in municipal investing’s ability to combine strong, predictable returns with tangible local impact. These local authority green investments deliver a scalable solution for citizen-led financing of place-based climate initiatives making a difference to cities and communities across the UK. According to…

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