Posted on April, 24 2018

The European Parliament voted in committee in favour of bold measures on sustainable finance today.These include getting financial authorities to check if financial portfolios are aligned with the Paris Agreement on climate change, and making investors take their clients’ wishes on environmental and social matters into account.

These measures go a step further than those included in the European Commission’s action plan of 8 March. They show that MEPs want to move further and faster to redirect private finance in Europe towards activities which are fully sustainable.

Sébastien Godinot, Economist at WWF European Policy Office said:

“MEPs have laid out an ambitious plan for how we can make Europe’s finance contribute to a truly sustainable economy. The Commission should take these recommendations into account when it drafts legislation on financial issues in the coming months. It is also now over to Member States to support these plans and make the EU into a first-mover in redirecting financial flows to help and protect people and planet.”

The Parliament’s  Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee was voting on an ‘own initiative’ report. They notably voted in favour of:

• European Supervisory Authorities using climate scenario analysis to check if portfolios of financial institutions are aligned with the Paris Agreement on climate change;
• Investors being required to ask clients and beneficiaries for their  environment and social preferences and take these into account;
• Mandatory climate disclosure for corporate reporting, building on the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
• Climate disclosure for all retail financial products, such as retail saving funds proposed to households.

WWF calls on the European Commission to include these measures in its upcoming legislative proposals, on the European Parliament to support the report in plenary when it votes on 28 May (TBC), and on the EU Council to retain the measures when it comes to negotiate the individual legislative files.

The European Commission is expected to publish its first legislative proposals as outlined in the action plan on 23 May (TBC). These will cover an EU sustainable taxonomy (a list of which sectors and projects are sustainable) and investors’ duties regarding sustainability.

Further information:
Sébastien Godinot
Economist
WWF European Policy Office
sgodinot@wwf.eu
+32 489 461 314

Sarah Azau
Senior Communications Officer
WWF European Policy Office
sazau@wwf.eu
+32 473 573 137