Implementing sustainable finance legislation is the next challenge, according to industry professionals speaking at the annual European Financial Services Conference on Thursday 1 February.
“A recent survey we conducted shows that there is a lot of interest in investing in the energy transition, from both institutional and individual investors”, said Elizabeth Corley, Chairperson of Schroders Plc, the international asset management group.
The search for long-term investments makes the climate more attractive, as it allows investment in the real economy. “You can’t separate the social and the environmental, but you can combine genuine results, take into account the community and the people who are affected, directly or indirectly”, she added.
According to Ms Corley, this requires consistent implementation, so that high ambitions are not squandered by fragmented implementation.
Mario Nava, Director General for Structural Reform at the European Commission, believes that the implementation of recently adopted legislation will be the main task of the next Commission. Given that these are long-term investments, the difficulty lies in knowing how fast to move forward. We are talking about the current use of natural resources, and “you can’t negotiate with nature”, he emphasised.
“We have the EU Taxonomy, comprehensive disclosures, we have green bonds, we have climate benchmarks, and we’re working on ESG ratings”, said Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for Financial Services (see EUROPE 13333/9).
“I know that some of these are providing or even causing anxiety amongst those who’ll need to implement them, particularly on reporting. But we have been very careful not to overburden”, she said.
She mentioned the fact that an analysis by the Platform on Sustainable Finance showed that the tools available are already being used, that they are already providing certainty for companies and that the taxonomy is being used as a basis for reporting.
Verena Ross, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), confirmed her commitment to making the existing framework work on the ground for companies and issuers. In particular, this should lead to the provision of an increasing amount of quality information that is also easy to understand. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)