Sustainable finance

Sustainable finance

Sustainable finance—content

Content on sustainable finance in this subtopic includes the following:

An introduction to sustainable finance

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Sustainable finance and ESG—overview—provides details on climate change and sustainability issues facing the financial sector. It provides an introduction to the area, setting out why climate change and sustainability is such a hot topic and explains how that has affected the financial sector especially when dealing with risk and financial stability. The Practice Note provides information on the global and European policy and legislative initiatives in this area, such as the Paris Agreement 2015, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB), Task Force on Climate-related Disclosures (TCFD), Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector (SFDR), Regulation (EU) 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 (Taxonomy Regulation) and Regulation (EU) 2019/2089 amending Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 as regards EU climate transition benchmarks, EU Paris-aligned benchmarks and sustainability-related disclosures for benchmarks (Low Carbon Benchmark Regulation). Policy developments, alongside regulatory and legislative measures in the UK level are also covered, as well as developments from

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Latest Environment News

Defra publishes response to consultation on Marine Recovery Fund

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published the response to its March 2025 consultation on establishing the Marine Recovery Fund (MRF). Defra has welcomed suggestions to enhance the fund’s effectiveness and will continue drafting secondary legislation under section 292 of the Energy Act 2023 (EnA 2023) to establish the MRF. Guidance will be published alongside the MRF’s launch to clarify application processes and cost transparency. Defra also intends to provide legal certainty regarding the transfer of liability for compensation through the contract between the Marine Recovery Fund Operator and the applicant. The MRF will apply exclusively to offshore wind development activities. In response to calls for the activation of broader measures, the MRF will provide access to measures in the List of Standard Compensatory Measures (LoSCM). The scope of available measures in the LoSCM will depend on the outcome of Defra’s July 2025 consultation on environmental compensatory measures reform. Defra will also publish further information on how the MRF will coordinate with the Scottish MRF and how it differs from the Nature Restoration Fund.

Environmental enforcement round-up—13 October 2025

A round-up of the latest environmental enforcement, including a dairy company fined for slurry pollution of a Dorset river.

Defra consults on 2025 WEEE compliance fee

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a consultation seeking views on whether a Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) compliance fee should be set for 2025, and on the proposed management of the fee. The WEEE compliance fee is agreed and administered annually, allowing companies that do not meet their annual collection targets to comply with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013, SI 2013/3113, by paying the fee instead. The consultation closes on 10 November 2025.

EA launches consultation on updates to water resources planning guideline

The Environment Agency (EA) has launched a consultation on proposed updates to the water resources planning guideline (WRPG), which outlines the expectations for water companies in preparing statutory water resources management plans. The guideline is revised every five years, ahead of water companies drafting their management plans. The consultation seeks views on whether the updated guideline enables companies to produce plans with secure and resilient water supplies that protect the environment. The EA has also published the Environmental Destination for Water Resources Planning Guidance as a related document for comment. The final version of the WRPG is expected in spring 2026. Draft water resources management plans will be subject to consultation in 2028, with final plans expected to be published over winter 2028/29. The consultation closes on 5 December 2025.