Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Royal Society's report entitled, Digital Technology and the Planet, published on 3 December 2020, what plans he has to ask the Financial Conduct Authority to develop guidance on the energy proportionality of digital technologies.

In October 2019, the FCA published a Statement on Climate Change. This set out the FCA’s key interests and intended outcomes:

I. Enhancing environmental disclosures.

II. Improving the regulatory framework – including by encouraging innovation.

III. Protecting consumers – including by combatting greenwashing.

The FCA is an operationally independent, non-governmental body, given statutory powers by the Financial Services and Markets Act (2000) as amended by the Financial Services Act (2012). Developing new guidance is the responsibility of the FCA, and therefore this matter is one for the FCA to consider.