Labour’s new green rules for big companies face resistance in the City

Business lobby groups fear the impact of the government's environmental standards on efforts to revive the London Stock Exchange

When Keir Starmer launched the Labour party's 142-page manifesto in June, the future prime minister was dubbed a man of no surprises. But alongside much-trailed pledges to kickstart economic growth and cut NHS waiting lists were newly adopted plans for new environmental regulations for London's largest listed companies.

Labour will make the UK the green finance capital of the world," the manifesto said. And to get there, the party pledged to ensure that FTSE 100 companies - as well the City's banks, asset managers, insurers and pension funds - adopt credible" climate transition plans in line with the Paris agreement's pledge to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C.