Smart investment for a green future
Saving the planet needs smart investment. For this to happen effectively projects need to be supported that deliver positive environmental and social impact.
A new The Scotsman Sustainable Scotland podcast, in association with law firm Womble Bond Dickinson, explores the topic of Financing Decarbonisation, and the related challenges and opportunities.
The Financing Decarbonisation podcast features Chris McLauchlan, who is a partner in the banking team at Womble Bond Dickinson and also the firm’s Edinburgh office community engagement partner, and Simon Crichton, head of nature, food and resource at Triodos Bank UK.
An example of financing decarbonisation covered in the podcast centres around Triodos Bank UK, advised by Womble Bond Dickinson, providing two term loan facilities to Oxygen Conservation. These funded the purchase of properties from Buccleuch Estates for a nature-based conservation project - at the time believed to be the largest conservation-focused commercial debt package in the UK.
Explaining the need to invest in decarbonisation, Simon said: “It's critical that we get pace and scale given the degradation of biodiversity across the planet and the UK, including Scotland.”
Chris added: “It's an absolutely critical element in the move to net zero, and then, of course, there is energy security. Recent international events demonstrate how important this is at a macro economic level, but also at the micro level, because of the impact of things happening outside our control.”
Explaining Womble Bond Dickinson’s Financing Decarbonisation campaign, Chris said: “We want to play our part in delivering a sustainable future. The campaign is designed to highlight the legal support we offer Scottish and UK clients, including cross border clients investing in projects that make a real contribution to decarbonisation.”
On the Oxygen Conservation project, Simon said: “This was a landmark project for us. It was really the first project where we transitioned from a more typical loan and debt repayment model based on monthly payments and capital and interest as we go, to one where we sought for the capital repayment to come from the carbon credits of the project. That was enabled by the clever structuring from Womble Bond Dickinson and by Oxygen Conservation themselves.”