Sustainable Finance: Commission seeks views on how best to encourage sustainable investments

The Commission is today launching a public consultation on how asset managers and institutional investors could include environmental, social and governance factors when taking decisions. This would help them allocate capital more efficiently by taking into account sustainability risks, rather than merely seeking to maximise short-term financial returns. Today’s consultation follows up on one of the eight early recommendations delivered by the High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (HLEG) in its interim report of July 2017. It forms part of the Commission’s efforts to mobilise private capital towards green and sustainable investments to enable the transition to a low-carbon economy and shows the EU’s strong commitment to mitigate risks posed by climate change and environmental challenges. The EU has taken the lead in building a financial system that supports sustainable growth and sustainable finance continues to be one of the Juncker’s Commission’s main priorities. The consultation further underlines the EU’s commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As announced in its 2018 Work Programme, the Commission will adopt an Action Plan on sustainable finance in the first quarter of 2018. The public consultation is open until 28 January 2018 and is available here.