Sustainable Finance: Commission launches consultation on Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy

The European Commission has today launched a consultation on its Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy. This is an integral part of the European Green Deal and the Commission’s overall efforts to ensure a sustainable and resilient economic recovery following the coronavirus outbreak. The aim of this consultation is to collect as many views as possible to feed into the Commission’s work to help mobilise private investment in sustainable projects. The ongoing coronavirus outbreak highlights the critical need to strengthen the sustainability and resilience of our economies in the future.

This renewed strategy will build on previous initiatives and reports, such as the Commission’s 2018 Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth and the reports of the Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (TEG). The Commission’s aim is to adopt the Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy in the second half of 2020. Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People said: “We are currently battling the coronavirus outbreak, but we must not lose sight of our long-term sustainability objectives, including making Europe climate-neutral by 2050.

Creating a more sustainable and resilient economy will be a key focus of the recovery phase and the Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy will be essential to mobilising much-needed capital. This consultation is an opportunity for all Europeans, companies, civil society organisations and public authorities to contribute to the EU’s sustainable finance agenda, and how it can contribute to the economic recovery.”

Within the broader context of the European Green Deal Investment Plan, the renewed strategy will aim to: (1) create a strong basis to enable sustainable investment; (2) increase opportunities for citizens, financial institutions and corporates to have a positive impact on society and the environment; and (3) fully manage and integrate climate and environmental risks into the financial system.

The consultation will be open until 15 July 2020.

The consultation is available online here.