Project objectives and activities

Building on the global project, the Grantham Research Institute has designed a dedicated project that focuses on the UK and the role that investors can play in linking the environmental and social dimensions of the transition. The project is being implemented together with the University of Leeds, who will focus on a regional pilot exploring the transition risks and opportunities facing the Yorkshire region and the contribution that investors could make.

The UK project is:

  • Surveying the UK policy and investment landscape on the just transition, mapping high-level transition exposure across the country and identifying the specific case for investor action.
  • Conducting an in-depth regional case study of Yorkshire, analysing transition risks and opportunities, and working with local stakeholders to develop a place-based agenda for the just transition.
  • Working with leading financial institutions to apply the framework for investor action in a series of Yorkshire-based examples, covering shareholder engagement, capital allocation and policy dialogue.
  • Identifying how to strengthen the role of investors in financing a just transition in Yorkshire, including building up a pipeline of investable assets, highlighting any barriers that are preventing this.
  • Developing a national roadmap for investing in a just transition, setting out the lessons of the Yorkshire pilot for other regions, how investors can bring together the environmental and social dimensions of their climate strategies and what policy reforms are needed to ensure that the just transition is embedded in the financial system.

The UK project started in July 2018. An initial landscape review setting out the specific UK challenge of investing in a just transition was published in February 2019.  A roadmap for investors was published in October 2019.

Project delivery and funding

The Investing in a Just Transition UK project is being delivered in partnership with the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC). The project is funded by the Friends Provident Foundation.

Publications

Financing climate action with positive social impact: How banking can support a just transition in the UK (July 2020)

Financing inclusive climate action in the UK: An investor roadmap for the just transition (October 2019)

Investing in a just transition in the UK: How investors can integrate social impact and place-based financing into climate strategies (February 2019)

Investing in a Just Transition in the UK: Project scoping and introduction report

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