The European Parliament has today adopted a proposal intended to provide clarity on what sustainable investments are by creating an EU-wide classification system. This is a first and essential step in efforts to channel investments into sustainable activities.
Currently, there are various notions and definitions across the EU of what ‘sustainability’ and ‘green’ entail.
Private investment is essential to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and other environmental objectives and the financial sector has a key role to play.
“I am pleased we have made progress on developing a more coherent system for defining a sustainable financial investment. You cannot work towards a common goal when everyone is using a different language. This is essential if we want to enable investors to compare financial products with one-another,” commented Lieve Wierinck, ALDE shadow MEP for this file on the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee.
“The financial sector is in the position to make or break the transition to a sustainable economy. With this vote, we made a first step, but we must raise the ambition. We need to ensure that all parts of the financial system are sustainable. The European Commission will have to work on further rules to ensure that the financial system truly supports the green transition that our society and the planet so badly need,” said Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy MEP, shadow for the ENVI Committee of the House.
