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The proposals confirm Europe's commitment to be the global leader in fighting climate change and implement the Paris Agreement. The involvement of the financial sector will greatly boost efforts to reduce our environmental footprint while enhancing the sustainability and competitiveness of the EU economy.
Following up on the first ever EU Action Plan on Sustainable Finance, the proposals will allow the financial sector to throw its full weight behind the fight against climate change. There are compelling arguments for putting the financial sector at the service of our planet: first, the impact of climate change already threatens financial stability and leads to major economic losses through floods, land erosion or draughts. Last year, the amount of catastrophe-related losses covered by insurance reached an all-time high of €110 billion. Second, if we wake up too late to the reality of global warming, many of today's investments could end up being redundant. At the same time, we should make the most of the new business opportunities for sustainable economic activities. The EU financial sector has the potential to multiply sustainable finance and become a global leader in this area. This should also have a positive effect on economic growth and job creation. It will support the goals of the Capital Markets Union's (CMU) to connect finance with the needs of the European economy and the EU's agenda for sustainable development.
Key features of the measures
1. A unified EU classification system ('taxonomy');
2. Investors' duties and disclosures;
3. Low-carbon benchmarks; and
4. Better to advice to clients on sustainability.