HM Treasury Reports UK Green Financing Programme Allocated £11.1bn in FY2024-25, with Nuclear Energy Added as Eligible Category
HM Treasury published on 15 October 2026 its fourth allocation report and second impact report under the UK Government Green Financing Programme, covering Financial Year 2024-25. The Programme raises money through two instruments: green gilts (UK government bonds with environmental conditions attached) issued via the Debt Management Office, and retail NS&I Green Savings Bonds sold directly to savers. In FY 2024-25 the Programme raised £10.1bn, and together with £1.0bn carried forward from the prior year, £11.1bn was available and fully allocated to eligible green expenditure. Departments reported £14.1bn of eligible expenditure in this cycle; the remaining £3.0bn is intended for allocation in the FY 2025-26 round. Eligible expenditure falls across six original categories: Clean Transportation, Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Pollution Prevention and Control, Living and Natural Resources, and Climate Change Adaptation. The Green Financing Framework was updated in November 2025 to add nuclear energy as a seventh eligible category and to move from biennial to annual impact reporting. The Programme's cumulative environmental record to date includes estimated avoidance of at least 24.72 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions, installation of 307,978 electric vehicle charging points, funding of 212,312 electric vehicles, planting of at least 1.3 million trees, support for at least 62,025 jobs, and estimated annual household energy bill savings of £18.3m. The report was independently assured by Grant Thornton.
Why this matters
The scale of the Programme, over £11bn allocated in a single year, confirms the UK sovereign green bond market as a substantial and recurring feature of the public debt issuance calendar. The addition of nuclear energy to the eligible categories in November 2025 is commercially significant: it opens the door to nuclear infrastructure projects being funded through green gilt proceeds, which is a contested classification in international sustainable finance markets and could influence how private-sector issuers in the UK frame their own green financing frameworks. Annual rather than biennial reporting also raises the ongoing assurance and disclosure burden for the government.
On the Ground
Capital markets lawyers advising on green, social, and sustainability-linked bonds (often called GSS bonds) will track HM Treasury's framework updates closely, because sovereign frameworks frequently set the benchmark that private issuers reference when structuring their own green bond documentation. The inclusion of nuclear energy as an eligible category may prompt clients in the energy and infrastructure sectors to revisit their use-of-proceeds definitions and whether nuclear projects can now credibly be labelled green under a UK law-governed framework. A trainee on a green bond transaction would assist with drafting or proofreading the use-of-proceeds section of the prospectus, preparing verification notes, and coordinating with the independent assurance provider on methodology sign-off.
Interview prep
Question you might get
“What is a green gilt and how does the UK's Green Financing Framework influence how private-sector issuers structure their own green bonds?”
Sign up free to see the full answer
A model answer you can lift into an interview — how to frame this story for a partner.
Sign up freeMy notes
saved