The debate was chaired by Rt Hon. the Baroness Hayman GBE, joined by Lord Martin Callanan, the Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Lord Larry Whitty, Peers for the Planet; Kerry McCarthy MP, Shadow Minister for Climate Change; and London’s Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, Shirley Rodrigues, alongside representatives from HSBC, Aviva, BlackRock and KPMG. The roundtable brought together parliamentarians, place leaders and green finance specialists to explore how local action and private investment can combine so that real change can be achieved to transform communities to a net zero future.

The reception that followed, hosted by Baroness Hayman, also featured presentations from Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero; Prof Greg Clark CBE, Chair, 3Ci; Alex Sobel MP, Chair of the Net Zero APPG; and Joanne Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool.

Prof Greg Clark CBE, Chair at 3Ci said:

“The discussion confirmed three important points for me. Firstly, the UK has the combination of innovation and strong place leadership needed to deliver net zero but is currently unable to meet the cost of doing so. Secondly, major private investors want to enter this space, but struggle to find an investment pipeline that meets their needs. And thirdly, that local authorities do have project pipelines, but often lack the capacity to bring them up to investment grade.

“3Ci’s programme, which now has support across the UK local government family and from many major investors, is designed to tackle exactly these issues. Since its inception at COP26 3Ci has created a unique platform between place leaders and major investors, built a financial model capable of meeting the needs of both, and created an investment pipeline of 1,000 projects worth £60billion. The debate provided some fresh thinking for the work of 3Ci, which we will take away and include in our benefits package for localities which we are rolling out across this year.”

Rt Hon. the Baroness Hayman GBE added,

“I was delighted to Chair the joint 3Ci and Net Zero APPG roundtable and reception to hear from leading figures across finance, local government and business about their ideas for unlocking the potential of our cities, towns and regions to deliver green growth. We know that the transition to net zero cannot be delivered from Westminster and Whitehall alone – it will require innovation, collaboration and strong leadership at the local level in order to deliver this new era of opportunity for our communities.”