On the way to Sustainable Finance – EU Commission published first Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act, Biodiversity Delegated Act to follow

European Business & Biodiversity Campaign - News

On the way to Sustainable Finance – EU Commission published first Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act, Biodiversity Delegated Act to follow

With the EU Taxonomy, the Commission presents a common classification system for sustainable economic activities. The increased transparency should make it easier for investors to re-orient investments towards more sustainable technologies and businesses.

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23 June 2021: With the Green Deal, the European Commission has presented an ambitious growth strategy. It aims to make Europe climate neutral by 2050 and to protect, preserve and enhance the EU's natural capital and biodiversity. According to the Commission, private investment of 350 billion euros per year will be required to achieve the goal. The EU taxonomy is a crucial element for shifting capital flows.

The taxonomy regulation is aimed at financial market participants that offer sustainable financial produicts, as well as businesses that fall under disclosure requirements and companies with more than 500 employees that are capital market oriented or operate as banks and insurance companies. The Delegated Act, published on 21 April, sets out technical assessment criteria to determine which activities make a significant contribution to achieving two of the environmental objectives set out in the Taxonomy Regulation: a. Climate change mitigation and b. Climate change adaptation. Technical assessment criteria for the four other environmental objectives will also be developed in the coming months. The four further environmental objectives are:
  • c         The sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources;
  • d        The transition to a circular economy
  • e         Pollution prevention and control;
  • f          Protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems.
In addition to the Ttaxonomy Climate Delegated Act, the Commission has also published a proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). This proposal is intended to increase the comparability of companies' sustainability reporting and provide a broader audience with reliable information on the topic of sustainability. The entire package of EU measures will have an impact on financial market actors and companies. How the actors can deal with these new requirements and what potential this has for sustainable investments is being analysed by the GNF together with OroVerde in a new project.

GNF and OroVerde use the EU taxonomy as a lever to strengthen sustainable forest investments

In a project funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), Global Nature Fund together with OroVerde intends to contribute to increasing transparency in the market for forest investments. To this end, the project partners are compiling a market overview of investments in forest and biodiversity conservation offered in Germany against the background of the EU taxonomy. Case studies will also provide a more detailed understanding of the investments, their impact and implementation on the ground.

In direct exchange with providers and other experts, the application of the taxonomy, including weaknesses and challenges, will be discussed and solutions developed. One format for the exchange will be round tables. Based on the market overview, the case studies, the exchange with providers and other experts, GNF and OroVerde will develop recommendations for financial market actors and regulators.

For more information on the Green Deal and the EU Taxonomy and CSRD, click here.

Find out more about the Investments in Forest and Biodiversity Conservation project here.

Contact

Global Nature Fund (GNF)
International Foundation for Environment and Nature
Andrea Reuter, Programme Manager Business & Biodiversity
Kaiser-Friedrich-Str. 11
53113 Bonn
Germany
Tel.: +49 228 184 86 94 14
E-Mail: reuter@globalnature.org
Website: www.globalnature.org/en/
 
OroVerde
The Tropical Forest Foundation
Jan Ohnesorge,
Burbacher Straße. 81
53129 Bonn
Germany
Tel.: +49 228 242 90 0
E-Mail: johnesorge@oroverde.de
Website: www.oroverde.de

Author: Global Nature Fund (GNF)
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