New taxonomy disclosure rules will increase the transparency of financial market actors in gas and nuclear

The European Commission has today updated the technical standards to be used by financial market participants when disclosing sustainability-related information under the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation (SFDR). These amendments will ensure full transparency about investments in sectors and sub-sectors of the economy covered by and compliant with the EU Taxonomy, allowing investors to make informed investment decisions in line with their sustainability preferences. The Commission will continue to step up its efforts to ensure coherence and consistency across the EU Sustainable Finance Framework. Today’s amended Delegated Regulation will require financial market participants to also disclose by way of a simple graph the extent to which their portfolios are exposed to the gas and nuclear-related activities that comply with the Taxonomy, as set out in the Complementary Climate Delegated Act (CDA). Mairead McGuinness, Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union, said: “Earlier this year we included gas and nuclear as transitional activities in the sustainable finance Taxonomy, in a limited number of circumstances and under strict conditions. Renewables are an absolute priority in the EU taxonomy, all the more so in the current geopolitical context, but gas and nuclear have a role to play in our pathway to net zero in this energy transition. With today’s rules, the financial sector will be required to provide full transparency regarding the degree of sustainability of financial products – with additional transparency required for investments that include gas and nuclear. Today’s requirements will now be formally transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council, who will have three months to scrutinise the act. The updated Delegated Regulation is available here.