Half of £1m target raised for Bristol Climate Action Investment

Over £500,000 has been raised in five weeks to support the decarbonisation of Bristol.

Speeding up the city’s goal of becoming carbon neutral through the Bristol Climate Action Investment, with seven weeks remaining to meet its £1 million target.

The council launched Bristol Climate Action Investment on March 3, giving residents, communities and businesses the chance to invest in local climate action and make a fixed return on a low-risk investment.

The money raised will be used by the council as part of its decarbonisation programme to install energy-efficiency and renewable energy improvements to council owned buildings across the city, reducing emissions and energy bills.

Works are expected to include installation of heat pumps, solar panels and LED lighting.

The buildings that will benefit from the first round of investment provide a range of services for local people including children’s respite care and community facilities at the Belbrook Children’s Respite Unit and Ridingleaze Social Services Office in Lawrence Weston, together with the Symes Avenue Social Services building in Hartcliffe.

Investors will receive a fixed return of 4.2 per cent interest a year across a five-year term, with payments made every six months.

Investments from as little as £5 can be made, with the option of investing through an ISA for tax free returns. There are no fees for investors.

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Councillor Martin Fodor, chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee, said: “It’s great to see such a positive start with over £500,000 raised in the first five weeks.

“It shows people and residents of Bristol are engaged in local climate action, have confidence in the council to decarbonise its own estate, and see the many benefits of investing in Bristol Climate Action Investment.

“The fund will make a positive difference to the climate as we will lower carbon emissions, as well as being good for savers who receive a fixed interest rate and good for the services who will benefit from lower running costs.

“Over the last 10 years, the council has taken significant steps towards achieving its goal of becoming carbon neutral.

“Since 2015 the council’s direct emissions have been halved, and together with the people and communities of Bristol, we are taking our next steps to invest in a cleaner, greener and healthier future.”

The council is looking to raise up to £1m in the initial launch phase and an additional £1m over the next 18 months, taking the total up to £2m, which will go towards funding future projects to reduce carbon emissions across the city.

Bristol Climate Action Investment has been launched in partnership with ethical investment platform Abundance Investment.

Karl Harder, co-founder and director of Abundance Investment said: “The City of Bristol has a proud and long history of municipal investing, with the council having raised money from residents and businesses across the 19th and 20th century to finance the building of local infrastructure.

“It is therefore fantastic to see the modern version of this old form of local saving and investment being picked up, once again, with such enthusiasm.”

The council has taken significant steps to decarbonise its own buildings, halving its direct emissions since 2015 and is committed to reducing the remaining emissions from direct activity to become carbon neutral.

These actions include reducing the council’s energy use in buildings and streetlighting, modernising the vehicle fleet with electric vehicles, and switching from gas boilers to the city’s heat network or individual heat pumps.

It will also be expanding its supply of renewable electricity and the temporary use of green gas until boilers are replaced.

The work to create the Bristol Climate Action Investment was made possible by funding from the European Union (EU)’s Horizon Europe Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission as part of the Net Zero Investment Co-innovation Lab – a project led by Bristol City Council and funded by the EU which aims to create a series of financial mechanisms to speed up and increase investment in climate action and support zero carbon business growth.

All photos: Bristol City Council

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