Pension and insurance firms have supported a public-private blended finance model to mitigate investment risk and ramp up private finance into “green and good” infrastructure, part of a ten-point action plan from the Association of British Insurers’ Investment Delivery Forum. The new funding model aims to facilitate private investment in the UK’s critical infrastructure – specifically a national electric vehicle (EV) charging network – as well as support nuclear energy development and offshore wind investment. The model was developed in partnership with the Green Finance Institute (GFI) and benefitted from engagement by His Majesty’s Treasury’s blended-finance team, with public support – potentially from the government’s recently unveiled National Wealth Fund – to assuage concerns over initial risk in new infrastructure that private investors are unable to take on. Outlined as part of a new report, the plan also included a widening of the forum’s regional engagement plans, focusing on Manchester and the North West in 2023-24 and expanding to cover West Yorkshire, Liverpool, Wales and Scotland in 2024-25. “Members of the forum stand ready to act to accelerate the nation’s investment into green and good infrastructure,” said Rhian Mari-Thomas, CEO of the GFI. “This will deliver growth, jobs and help us meet our net-zero targets. The work done on new funding models, such as the EV chargepoint programme, are essential to facilitate the flow of private capital into the green infrastructure transition, and a number of members see nuclear as an attractive investment.”
It was a privilege to attend the Chancellor’s roundtable on Pension Investment this morning. The timing was perfect as today we've launched a 10-point action plan to support our sector channel more investment into large-scale infrastructure across the UK. https://t.co/He7CYm6UdA pic.twitter.com/RRyXn6dEQ6
— Hannah Gurga (@Hannah_Gurga) July 22, 2024
