A new public body to align the work of the existing UK infrastructure bank and the British Business Bank, the National Wealth Fund (NWF) doesn’t make for very sexy headlines but for anyone who cares about boosting clean energy, green jobs, and cutting our carbon emissions, it’s really important.

This £7.3 billion has been split into different pots to help the most energy intensive sectors decarbonise: including £1.5 billion to gigafactories for electric vehicles, £2.5 billion to clean steel, and £1 billion for carbon capture. But since the Climate Change Committee have said we need £50 billion *every single year* to fund the green transition, this barely touches the sides.

Crucially, Labour say that for every £1 of public investment, the NWF will attracts £3 of investment from private companies. [2] So the government's hope is that tens of billions more will be brought in. The logic behind this is that many green technologies are early in their development and so they're a risky investment. By the National Wealth Fud - ie. the government - investing first, the projects become a safer bet for investors.

But focusing on 'crowding-in' money from private investors can be risky in itself, since public money can end up being used to subsidise the profits of the future for private investors. In the long-run, that can be a bad deal for the public (similar to the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scandals [3]) and raises big questions about who should own and benefit from the green industries of the future.

If you want to know even more about the NWF, we’ve written an explainer blog that dives into all the details. And if you’re still scratching your head, please tell us what else you’d like to know in the survey by hitting the button below.

Tell us what you know (or don't!) about the National Wealth Fund

Crucially, there’s lots about the NWF that nobody knows yet because it hasn’t been announced. This means there’s lots of scope to influence how it’s designed and rolled out across the country.

We’ll be sharing a briefing paper with every MP when they get back in Parliament in a few weeks time and doing a lot more work to shine a light on the NFW before then so watch this space!

Thanks so much for your support,

Kate, Positive Money

Notes

[1] UK Government: Boost for new National Wealth Fund to unlock private investment

[2] Positive Money: The National Wealth Fund: Explained

[3] The King’s Fund: An unhealthy end looms for the private finance initiative

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA