Scottish net zero financing initiative launched to unlock investment

A new Scottish green finance initiative is underway, aiming to activate £40bn a year in investment for green energy projects across the nation.

Transition Finance Scotland (TFS) in partnership with Green Finance Institute (GFI) is set to move private capital funding into decarbonisation industries.

Forty Scottish organisations across the private and public sector have already joined together under the partnership aiming to expand the level of investment going towards net zero projects.

Together, these stakeholders aim to galvanise investment into opportunity across Scotland’s infrastructure and energy sectors, ranging from floating offshore wind and carbon capture, to the built environment.

TFS aims to take advantage and build on GFI’s experience in structured finance, project development, and policy design, aiming to unlock barriers to capital whilst creating innovative financial solutions in the market.

The partnership will be particularly focused on ensuring that public sector funding is best positioned and used to encourage private investment, driving further growth with increased capital.

The initiative will therefore centre its efforts on forming sector coalitions and partnerships, scoping investible projects, and finding funding gaps to usher in more investment into Scotland’s net zero transition.

TFS also plans on working closely with the UK and Scottish governments, including GB Energy and the Scottish National Investment Bank, to help firms and energy projects gain investment.

Transition Finance Scotland will be officially launched in 19 June in Edinburgh, lead by its chair Graeme Jones, the former chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise.

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“Transition Finance Scotland brings together two of Scotland’s most valuable sectors – energy and finance – to help deliver significant new investment in net zero projects,“ Jones said. “The scale of the challenge is significant, but so is the opportunity – not only to help accelerate the energy transition, but also to create jobs and economic growth across Scotland.”

Edinburgh management consultancy Alba Partners and law firm Pinsent Masons helped drive the creation on TFS on a pro bono basis.

“Scotland is uniquely positioned as a key player in the transition, with world class financial services alongside legacy energy infrastructure and renewables,” Green Finance Institute chief executive Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE said.

“We look forward to deploying our expertise and approach, partnering with key Scottish and global investors to unlock private capital at scale.”

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