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Local Climate Bonds a cost-effective way to raise billions for councils’ green plans, says new campaign

The Green Finance Institute and Abundance Investment, supported by UK100Local Partnerships and Innovate UK, today launch a national campaign to help local authorities issue a type of municipal finance investment – Local Climate Bonds. The campaign will target all 404 local authorities in the UK, of which over 70% have declared a climate emergency, helping them bring to market this retail investment product – a cost-effective way for them to fund hundreds of green local projects in the run-up to and beyond the critically important COP26 summit in November. The Green Finance Institute and Abundance’s campaign will highlight the benefits of Local Climate Bonds, build a community of knowledge sharing, and provide access to green finance and municipal investment experts. Local Climate Bonds, a type of ‘community municipal investment’, allow local authorities to raise capital to fund specific initiatives in their neighbourhoods, from wind farms to solar panel installations, rewilding and electric vehicle plans, and investors can invest from as little as £5 through a crowdfunding model. Abundance has calculated that these bonds could raise as much as £3 billion if issued by the 343 local authorities in England. For citizens, the Local Climate Bond provides a low-risk and fixed return investment, comparable to other Government-backed investments such as Gilts, and a way to mobilise their savings to help tackle the climate emergency in their area. Find out more here

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