Article
French authorities contribute to the renewal of the European sustainable finance strategy
The renewal of the European Union's strategy on sustainable finance is a structuring step in the greening of the financial sector. Its objective is to reinforce the achievements of the action plan launched by the European Commission in 2018 and to accelerate the mobilization of the financial sector for a just ecological transition, particularly in the context of the green economic recovery.
France considers that the European Union's ambition in this area must be based on quality guarantees of sustainable financial products and on the development of new instruments. To this end, the French Treasury, the Commissariat Général au Développement Durable, the Banque de France, the Prudential Supervisor and Resolution Authority (ACPR) and the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) have put forward six main proposals:
- Improving the availability, reliability and comparability of environmental, social and governance (ESG) data - through the revision of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive and the creation of a single, freely accessible ESG database;
- Establishing a regulatory and supervisory framework for ESG ratings;
- Developing green securitization and transition bonds;
- Rapidly adopting a European Green Bond Standard;
- Developing minimum standards for ESG investment funds;
- Improving the consideration of climate risks through the development of specific databases on climate-related financial losses and physical risks.
Carbon pricing would also provide a particularly effective economic incentive for market players to adapt their behavior in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
The European Union has taken the initiative to move towards a more sustainable economic system, and must ensure that a regulatory framework is in place that is sufficiently flexible and adaptable to consolidate this position and to become an international benchmark. The French authorities will continue to contribute their expertise to achieve these objectives.