Britain Goes Ahead with Mandatory Climate Plans Amid Protest

Britain will move ahead with climate plans that force financial firms and listed companies to draft plans from next year to achieve a net-zero economy by 2050. The activists opposing the rules have been protesting across central London, demanding a repeal.

British finance minister Rishi Sunak said at the COP26 UN Climate Summit that companies will have to disclose a strategy by 2023 to mitigate climate risk, interim goals between now and 2050, and methods to fulfil them.

It is part of the British government's efforts to make the country the world's first net-zero financial centre.

The finance ministry said the task force will devise "rigorous and robust" procedures to combat "greenwashing," or exaggerated green credentials, and will assist businesses in developing "investable and responsible" transformation plans.

Amanda Blanc, CEO of insurer Aviva and co-chair of the new Transition Plan Taskforce, said: "Preventing the worst impacts of climate change will take all businesses developing ambitious, consistent transition plans to get us to a low carbon future."

It has a two-year mandate to establish transition planning methods and a 'sandbox' to test the new plans.