Our next Hallam Climate Assembly, leading up to COP26, will be about how we can finance the move to zero-carbon both in our city, but also nationally and internationally.

The scale of the climate emergency demands urgent and radical action. To build a green new deal transformative enough to tackle climate change and ensure a just transition, we’re going to need unprecedented levels of investment to fund new green infrastructure projects and retrofit existing infrastructure; protect and restore our natural environment; and create thousands of well paid, secure jobs. Whilst figures vary, estimates suggest that a global green new deal would cost $90 trillion USD over the next ten years. Nationally, the government predicts that the cost of meeting their already inadequate target of net zero by 2050 will be £36 billion per year.

So how can we pay for this transition and where will the money come from? How do we ensure our tax system rewards action that tackles the climate crisis, and penalises those who make it worse? How do we green our banking and financial systems, ensuring that banks and pension pots invest in environmentally friendly businesses while pulling financial support for big polluters and corporations that exacerbate the climate emergency?  And what does this mean for Sheffield? Could we expand our city’s programme of ethical procurement and community wealth building to fund investment in local, green initiatives? Or perhaps we could use the local tax system, such as in Nottingham where car use is discouraged with a Parking Levy?    

We’ll discuss these issues and more on Thursday 4th March at 5.30pm. I want to hear your thoughts and ideas, so we can continue to build our vision for a green recovery in Hallam and in the UK, with tangible ideas about how we will make it happen.

We will be joined by Economist Dr Ann Pettifor, who conceptualised the Green New Deal, and is vocal in the campaign for state funded green investment and jobs creation.