---

Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL]

My Lords, we have a lot to cover today, so I will be brief.

We do not believe that imposing additional reporting duties, transition plan requirements and regulatory processes on financial services firms is the right way to address the concerns that have been addressed in these amendments this evening. One of the merits of the Bill is the way it cuts out needless and repetitive operational requirements on financial services firms and regulators and instead introduces a more effective approach based on five-year strategies. As we heard on Monday, stakeholders’ views will be sought in the course of establishing those strategies. Of course, climate change and environmental objectives already remain an important statutory regulatory principle, intended to contribute to the UK’s net-zero target under the Climate Change Act and to the environmental targets established under the Environment Act.

However, requiring banks, other financial institutions and the regulators themselves to fill in forms, tick boxes and produce more and more reports about climate change will not have a meaningful effect on global temperatures; it will simply add costs. We need a regulatory environment which supports growth, enterprise and investment. That means cutting down on the red tape and extra requirements that are putting our international competitiveness at risk. These amendments would add a further layer of process and obligation without a sufficiently clear demonstration that the burdens would advance the environmental objectives being pursued.

This is a time when we should be seeking to streamline regulations and be careful about new requirements, however well-intentioned, because of the need to get the economic growth that we lack. These amendments risk taking us a step backwards, so we cannot support them and will be voting against them if noble Lords press them to a vote.