Abundance develops green investment product with local authorities
Abundance Investment is developing an investment product for the public sector to finance green infrastructure projects.
The ethical crowd bonds platform said that it is “in the final stages” of developing its Community Municipal Investment offering, after four years of research and development with local authorities across the UK.
Abundance said it is now in the final stages of developing the first wave of investments with West Berkshire, Leeds City and Warrington Councils, with many others not far behind.
Read more: P2P ‘could play a bigger role’ in helping environment
Read more: Abundance chief calls for regulatory overhaul of green finance
The firm said in a blog on its website that it will soon be sharing more information about this investment product. It also referred to a previous blog post that talked about a funding gap for local authorities that wish to meet climate targets.
“Up to now, local authority spend for such projects has fallen into a ‘discretionary’ category, meaning borrowing was commonly required from the Public Works Loan Board to fund it,” Abundance said.
“But the UK’s move towards a net zero economy has coincided with a sting in the tail for local authorities. At this critical time, central government has increased borrowing rates for local authorities, raising the costs for them to deliver this new infrastructure.”
Abundance has said that it is offering a new solution that will close the financial shortfall for local authorities, while giving citizens the chance to ‘do their bit’ in the war against climate change.
“We see money as something transformative, creating change and building a better world, not something to be hoarded under the mattress,” the platform said.
“And we’re really excited about getting you involved in the next stage of making that happen.
“Our economy and our financial system continue to function based on investment by the public sector in the infrastructure we share to keep working and generating wealth.
“That investment is not just in roads, railways and energy systems, it is also in the social, health and environmental assets which make society stronger and more resilient when things go wrong.
“And climate change is still a clear and present danger which we all, as citizens of the world, can no longer ignore; the majority wants to see action rather than just words in response to the climate emergency.”
Read more: Green bonds a crucial part of meeting EU emission cut targets