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Rishi Sunak to launch infrastructure bank with Net Zero focus https://www.ft.com/content/7a4f278b-4462-4123-a4c9-c7786d225baf
There are learnings we could take from the Green Investment Bank in defining the remit of the new bank.
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There are learnings we could take from the Green Investment Bank in defining the remit of the new bank.
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It always felt like GIB was in a catch 22: state aid rules meant it had to offer commercial terms not cheap money, but it was also supposed to achieve additionally. In practice it meant staying just ahead of the market - eg taking construction risk on offshore wind before others
This meant GIB could neither fund mature renewables nor early stage technology commercialisation. (Conversely EIB and KfW seem to be able to offer sub market terms more freely- which I never quite understood.)
The context for low carbon finance has changed since the creation of GIB, with so many investors now seeking low carbon projects and banks stress tested against climate scenarios. Makes me think - what are the specific market failures the new bank is supposed to address?
There is no shortage of private money going into mature low carbon technologies, but still harder to get finance for demonstrating and scaling up new technologies. This could be a role for the bank but would need to be written into its mandate.
