Financial Services and Markets Bill Report Stage, House of Lords

Global Witness advocates for the adoption of Amendment 91 to the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which would mandate due diligence for UK financial institutions to stop the funding of illegal deforestation. The document argues that voluntary frameworks like the TNFD are insufficient and that the UK financial sector currently poses a significant risk to global forests, with an estimated $16.6 billion provided to businesses implicated in deforestation between 2015-2020.

• The UK financial sector is a major financier of global deforestation and associated human rights abuses. Between 2015 and 2020, UK banks and asset managers provided approximately $16.6 billion to businesses linked to deforestation, generating an estimated $192 million in profit. Additionally, over £300 billion in UK pension funds are invested in companies and financial institutions with high deforestation risks, and the sector faces up to £200 billion in risk exposure specifically to Indonesian palm oil and Brazilian beef and soy supply chains.
• Amendment 91 proposes specific regulatory requirements for financial institutions, including a 24-month delay before the due diligence obligation begins to allow for sector preparation. It also requires the Secretary of State to provide secondary regulations and due diligence guidance within 12 months of the Bill's passage. A key component of the clause is the requirement for institutions to verify the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of indigenous peoples, addressing the high rate of violence against land and environmental defenders.
• Global Witness and the government's own Global Resource Initiative (GRI) Taskforce reject the government's reliance on the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD) as a substitute for mandatory due diligence. While the government argues that a global disclosure framework is necessary for action, the GRI Taskforce has explicitly rejected the TNFD's disclosure-based model, asserting that mandatory laws are required to stop the flow of UK finance to deforestation.
• The proposed amendment aligns the UK with international commitments, including the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration for Forests and Land Use and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to end biodiversity loss by 2030. It mirrors existing domestic legislation in Schedule 17 of the Environment Act 2021, which mandates due diligence for large companies importing 'forest risk commodities' such as beef, soy, and palm oil.

APA

Global Witness (2023). Financial Services and Markets Bill Report Stage, House of Lords. https://globalwitness.org/documents/175/Time_to_end_the_money_pipeline_driving_global_deforestation_and_deliver_a_gree_zckCMQr.pdf

Chicago

Global Witness. Financial Services and Markets Bill Report Stage, House of Lords. 2023. https://globalwitness.org/documents/175/Time_to_end_the_money_pipeline_driving_global_deforestation_and_deliver_a_gree_zckCMQr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Global Witness |title=Financial Services and Markets Bill Report Stage, House of Lords |date=June 2023 |url=https://globalwitness.org/documents/175/Time_to_end_the_money_pipeline_driving_global_deforestation_and_deliver_a_gree_zckCMQr.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{globalwitness2023financial, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{Financial Services and Markets Bill Report Stage, House of Lords}}, publisher = {Global Witness}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://globalwitness.org/documents/175/Time_to_end_the_money_pipeline_driving_global_deforestation_and_deliver_a_gree_zckCMQr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }