Morning, Tuesday, 9th December 2025
Online
This conference will examine next steps for transition finance policy and regulation in the UK. Planned areas for discussion include priorities for driving investment into the net zero economy, strengthening market frameworks and assurance mechanisms, and coordination of transition finance with wider economic, industrial, and regional objectives.
Policy developments & regulatory focus
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to assess the outcome of recent policy developments, including the designation of the UK sustainable finance market as a priority growth subsector in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy. Delegates will consider early indications of focus areas emerging from current government consultations, which include transition plan requirements, the establishment of UK Sustainability Reporting Standards, and the regulation of the sustainability assurance market, including initial stakeholder responses on how to incorporate nature-related risks into transition plans. Legal clarity around forward-looking disclosures will also be discussed, alongside the readiness of the assurance market to meet anticipated demand, as well as next steps for the Transition Finance Council.
Market signals & investor confidence
Discussion will focus on how recent developments are influencing capital flows into decarbonisation, looking at the strength and clarity of transition signals being sent to the market. Delegates will assess implications for investor confidence, the consistency and comparability of disclosure and reporting frameworks, and the coordination required among regulators, standard-setters and market participants - particularly in light of the Government’s decision not to proceed with a UK green taxonomy.
Business responsibilities & assurance market development
Further sessions will consider what expectations can reasonably be placed on businesses of different scales and in varying sectors - particularly SMEs and those working within complex or high-emission value chains - and what guidance or transitional support may be needed to help them respond. The development of UK sustainability assurance will be examined, looking at the role of assurance providers in supporting trust and accountability. Delegates will assess the effect of changing regulatory expectations on business planning, compliance costs, and relationships between issuers and investors.
Impacts on regions and sectors & options for support
We also expect discussion on the wider influence of transition finance on patterns of investment at sector and regional level - in the context of the place-based ambitions of the Industrial Strategy and the forthcoming Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan. Delegates will consider the policy and regulatory measures that may be needed to support alignment with infrastructure development, trade and export strategies, and the UK’s role in international climate finance.
With the agenda currently in the drafting stage, overall areas for discussion include:
- market growth: next steps for the Transition Finance Council - impact of the UK’s Trade Strategy on the export of sustainable finance services
- Industrial Strategy: investment pathways for IS-8 subsectors - public-private financing through the National Wealth Fund and British Business Bank
- investment mobilisation: tools such as guarantees and blended finance models - how government can support underinvested sectors
- legal risk and accountability: expectations on boards and assurance providers - governance implications for market confidence
- international commitments: UK credibility in meeting COP29 transition finance goals - supporting transitions in lower-income countries
