Britain To Launch World's First Sovereign Green Savings Bonds

British finance minister said he would not rush to fix the public finances as he readied a budget plan which will pile more borrowing on top of almost $418 billion of COVID-19 spending and tax cuts

Britain’s government plans to launch the world’s first sovereign green bonds for retail investors as part of its push to create a net-zero-carbon economy by 2050.

The savings bonds will fund projects in areas such as renewable energy and clean transportation and will go on sale this year, the Treasury said.

Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has commited to the launch of so-called green gilts, aimed at institutional investors, as part of his borrowing plans for the 2020/21 financial year, which will be announced in his budget statement on Wednesday.

The British minister said on Sunday he would not rush to fix the public finances as he readied a budget plan which will pile more borrowing on top of almost 300 billion pounds ($418 billion) of COVID-19 spending and tax cuts.

Sunak, who is due to deliver his budget to parliament on Wednesday, promised to help the UK economy through a gradual liting of lockdown measures that will last at least until late June. But he also said he would “level with people” about how Britain’s 2.1 trillion-pound debt pile would carry on growing without action.

“This is not something that’s going to happen overnight. Given the scale of the shock we’ve experienced, the scale of the damage, this is going to take time to fix,” Sunak told Sky News on Sunday.

“But it’s important ... to also have strong public finances over time.” Sunak declined to comment on specific tax moves - including a widely reported plan to raise corporation tax - ahead of his budget speech.