What is Sustainable Finance and why is it important for the future of Europe?

Sustainability is about to transform the European agenda in an unprecedented way.

The recent results of the European elections highlighted an increasing influence of the Greens in the EU Parliament. This, coupled with public demands for more government action on climate change, will inevitably stimulate more debates on sustainability – a key outcome of this year of change.

EU leaders are gathering this week for the European Council summit and climate change will be central to discussions on the EU’s upcoming “Strategic Agenda”. The message is clear: the key priority will be to uphold and achieve the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals as well as the Paris Agreement goals.

Yet, this ambition requires around €180 billion per year to have a significant impact. The EU wishes to truly mobilise the financial sector to help fund the transition to a greener, more sustainable economy. Hence, in aspiring to international leadership on the sustainable finance initiative, the European Commission has already set out its action plan and common legislative proposals.

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Sustainable finance is and will continue to be a key topic in the years to come. This is especially true with regards to the development of an EU taxonomy – in other words a classification system that determines which economic activities are considered sustainable.

With many sectors being impacted, it will be crucial for businesses to understand and get involved with these sustainability debates as soon as they occur. In our latest video, our finance expert Jane Gimber gives you the top line as to what sustainable finance is and why it is ever more on Europe’s radar.