One of the leading figures in London's green finance scene will be the keynote speaker at the 10th Guernsey Funds Forum in May.

Sir Roger Gifford is Chairman of the City of London Corporation – the body responsible for running London's Square Mile – which launched the London Green Finance Initiative in January 2016 in partnership with the UK Government to further the contribution of the financial sector to the G20 climate agenda.

It brings together international expertise to promote the sector, particularly through regulation and policy proposals, and seeks to promote the capital as a green global centre. He visited the island in 2016 when it was discussed that Guernsey could work with the City on the project.

He is also Chair of the UK Government's Green Finance Task Force, a former Lord Mayor of London, and a senior banker with SEB in London.

Guernsey has made rapid progress in green and sustainable finance over the past year, including the launch of the Guernsey Green Fund, a kitemark for green and sustainable finance, and membership of the United Nations' Financial Centres for Sustainability network.

Guernsey Finance Chief Executive Dominic Wheatley said: "We have always looked for keynote speakers whose area of expertise closely relates to our key themes. Guernsey is leading the way in green finance as the island demonstrates that it can develop products and solutions to respond to real-world issues, so we are looking forward to hearing Sir Roger's thoughts on our achievements in this area, and the future direction of the sector."

Guernsey is an investment funds jurisdiction of significant substance, with more than £280 billion of assets under management and an expertise particularly in alternative investments.

There are also two panel sessions as part of the programme for the half-day event. The first will be on green and sustainable finance, with Guernsey Finance Deputy Chief Executive and Guernsey Green Finance Chairman Dr Andy Sloan, Jeremy Alun-Jones of ADM Capital, Richard Burrett of Earth Capital and Helen Mahy of Renewables Infrastructure Group confirmed as panellists.

The second panel focuses on structuring private capital. Panellists include Bridget Barker of Zedra London, David Williams of Simmons & Simmons, Kevin Luck of JP Morgan and David Crosland of Carey Olsen.

As well as marking 10 years of the event, the Guernsey Funds Forum is also celebrating 30 years of the Guernsey Investment Fund Association. For more information and to register for the event, visit the event website.

For more information about Guernsey's finance industry please visit www.weareguernsey.com.

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