With the 10th Guernsey Funds Forum taking place in London this week, Dr Andy Sloan - Deputy Chief Executive, Strategy, at Guernsey Finance - explains why the panel on green and sustainable finance must be a call to action on the issue.

Serendipity is a powerful thing.

Last year when we determined the subjects of green finance and private capital for this week's Funds Forum event in London, we could not have foreseen how apposite these topics would be, come May. Our own research says that private capital has become a 'go to' source of funds for specialist and intermediate managers and arguably, with the interventions from David Attenborough, Extinction Rebellion, and Greta Thunberg, there's no bigger issue in 2019 than climate change. Green finance, Guernsey Green Finance, is about financing climate change mitigation projects. It is Guernsey's contribution to global good.

As a jurisdiction we are committed to strategic action on sustainable finance. Our specific initiative, Guernsey Green Finance; is a member of the United Nations' Finance Centres for Sustainability (FC4S) network; and last year we created the world's first regulated regime for green funds.

Guernsey's Funds Forum provides a platform for discussion and dialogue between funds professionals across the UK and Guernsey sectors. It's not traditionally a platform for hard sales pitches. But this year, in its 10th year and on the occasion of the GIFA's 30th anniversary of the Guernsey Investment and Funds Association, I feel we have a duty to expound the cause of climate finance.

Our track record on supporting climate finance is already most impressive. Come Thursday, ahead of Sir Roger Gifford, Chair of UK Green Finance, delivering his keynote address, I shall be joined on a panel by managers and firms representing more than £3bn of registered Guernsey Green Funds.

The panel's purpose is to demonstrate Guernsey's specialism and expertise in this area. Our mission in doing so is to convert others to the cause of green finance. In 2019, discussion and dialogue are no longer enough – we need action too.

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

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