Since the last review of a World Alliance member’s work in sustainable finance a few weeks ago, because of war in the Middle East, the world’s sensitivity to carbon-based energy sources is vastly heightened – their scarcity, necessity, and also the damage they do to climate.
The Lay of the Island
Jersey is an island in the English Channel, located some 20 km off the coast of France with just over 100,000 inhabitants who fit into an area of 120 square kilometers. It is a Crown Dependency of the British monarchy, an entity with its own parliament. Jersey is not part of the United Kingdom or of the European Union; the King of the UK is Jersey’s monarch.
Financial regulation in Jersey is primarily governed by the Financial Services (Jersey) Law of 1991, which requires all providers to be licensed and supervised by the Jersey Financial Services Commission. The regime is designed to be a robust, risk-based framework that meets international standards, focusing on anti-money laundering, countering terrorist financing, and promoting high standards of conduct and corporate governance.
Jersey’s Energy Inputs [1]
58% of Jersey’s energy consumption consists of petroleum products, refined fuels that arrive by ship for onward distribution to industrial, commercial, agricultural and domestic consumers, and retail petrol providers.
Electricity accounts for 38% of the supply of energy. Jersey gets approximately 95% of its electricity imported from France via three undersea cables; this energy is low-carbon, consisting of roughly one-third hydropower and two-thirds nuclear power. The remaining bit of power is generated on the island via the waste plant, solar, and wind. Admittedly, there is not a lot of free land for solar panel farms, nor a long seashore for wind farms. The local utility maintains two back-up oil-fired power stations.
Liquid petroleum gas accounts for a further 3% of energy consumption.
Jersey’s Green Finance Schemes
What are the green schemes for? Given the size of Jersey’s energy needs, all of this is not about those. It very much represents a different commitment; each IFC plays a role in meeting the vast global challenge of carbon transition.
The outsized share of financial services provided in Jersey relates to assets managed and administered. Jersey Finance cited these numbers: as of mid-2024, Jersey institutions collectively held approximately GBP1.3 trillion in total wealth (assets held/custody). The total net asset value of regulated funds administered in Jersey stood at GBP 457.6 billion.
At the end of 2024, the GDP of Jersey stood at just under GBP 7 bn[2]. The financial services industry’s contribution to the Jersey economy is fundamental, employing more than one in five working Islanders and supporting jobs and businesses across the community. Much of the industry’s impact is felt through everyday spending. The IFC also provides a dependable stream of business visitors that supports parts of Jersey’s economy which rely on consistent demand, including hospitality, retail and air connectivity. Around 30,000 business visitors are hosted by the industry each year, generating an estimated GBP19 million in local expenditure annually[3].
With this background, the story begins: sustainable finance policies and goals show up near the top of the Jersey Finance home page. It begins with the pledge that, “We believe Jersey, as a leading international finance centre, has a responsibility to leverage its expertise and capital to support the transition to a more environmentally and socially sustainable global economy.” Sustainable finance is embedded in the IFC’s offer, crossing all service areas, and together that package promotes and pushes ahead the deployment of considerable sums of capital:
Private Wealth – as intergenerational wealth transfers drive demand strategies for investment that focus on purpose and impact as well as transparency and profitability, private wealth is playing a vital role in supporting the global shift towards sustainable finance.
Funds - fund managers are increasingly focused on sustainable investment principles bringing their products, domiciliation choices and choice of service providers in line with sustainable investing criteria, as a way of enhancing returns, managing risk and differentiating their offering. There are clear opportunities for Jersey to support them with innovative solutions such as data-driven reporting to meet the increasing demand for ESG disclosure from investors and regulators.
Banking - Jersey’s banks are also embracing sustainable finance by expanding their range of sustainable lending products and embedding global standards such as the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) into their business models.
Investment management - the inclusion of ESG factors in mainstream investment planning has accelerated significantly in recent years, with asset owners and managers adopting a range of approaches that are broadly described as responsible investing.
Fintech - with a thriving fintech sector, Jersey is in a strong position to capitalize on advances in digital technology that can be used to scale up ESG data solutions and drive developments in sustainable finance.
Corporate services - providers continue to develop new ways to support Jersey’s transition to sustainability – from standardizing ESG reporting to helping clients list on forward-thinking stock exchanges like TISE Sustainable[4].
In Sum
Although Jersey’s own green finance needs are small, the professionals in this IFC are committed to ensuring that the very considerable assets under their care are at every turn contributing to the global task of transitioning away from carbon. Related to the environmental question, the Jersey Finance documents continued to demonstrate a sustained push to support global ESG norms generally.
[1] https://www.policy.je/papers/jerseys-energy-market/
[2] https://stats.je/statistic/national-accounts/
[3] https://www.jerseyfinance.com/insights/strong-finance-industry/
[4] The International Stock Exchange group has offices in several cities, including in Jersey. It provides listing and trading facilities for https://www.tisegroup.com/sustainable.