By a very wide majority (455 to 87, with 92 abstentions) on Tuesday 29 May, MEPs adopted an own initiative report by Molly Scott Cato (Greens/EFA, United Kingdom) on sustainable finance (see EUROPE 12008).
Ahead of the vote, the rapporteur, who is a professor of the green economy, expressed delight at the practically universal support for the report at the European Parliament and also at the European Commission, which feels it is a priority, as did leaders from around the world, such as President Macron, which demonstrates that the sustainable finance agenda goes beyond any ideology.
All the same, Molly Scott Cato says the report distances itself somewhat from the proposals proposed by the European Commission last week (see EUROPE 12026) which she said were "far more static."
Parliament’s proposal aims to limit in time the value of a number of assets depending on their sustainability potential, measured using existing indicators, which would allow investors to gradually move to a development and re-orientation of their assets to move in the direction of more sustainable investment, explained the rapporteur.
The MEPs also want assets that are damaging to the environment to be assessed in terms of their long-term risk profile. In addition, they agreed that unified standards should be established for green bonds and such investment should follow a dynamic sustainable European taxonomy.
The report focuses on the role of the institutions, particularly the European Central Bank and the European Investment Bank, which should "set an example."
But Molly Scott Cato also highlighted politicians’ leadership role. She warned that some, who risk getting lost on the sustainability path, would like to undermine one’s determination, adding that she feared intense lobbying from the nuclear industry in particular (see EUROPE 12022).
She said she wanted to convey to the Council and Commission her conviction that EU citizens are turning to them and expect them to play a leading role in this agenda. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)