The European Commission has adopted a number of measures to increase its level of ambition on sustainable finance. First, the new Sustainable Finance Strategy sets out several initiatives to tackle climate change, and other environmental challenges, while increasing investment – and the inclusiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – in the EU’s transition towards a sustainable economy.
The European Green Bond Standard proposal will create a high-quality voluntary standard for bonds financing sustainable investment. Finally, the Commission adopted today a Delegated Act on the information to be disclosed by financial and non-financial companies about how sustainable their activities are, based on Article 8 of the EU Taxonomy.
These initiatives highlight the EU’s global leadership in setting international standards for sustainable finance. The Commission intends to work closely with all international partners, including through the International Platform on Sustainable Finance, to cooperate on building a robust international sustainable finance system.
Green Bond Standard draft that Commision proposes will be voluntary used by companies and public authorities for financing their transition. The standard will be based on the EU Taxonomy and will require issuers making use of the standard to obtain pre- and post-issuance review from external reviewers registered with and supervised by ESMA.
