EU says green finance will be 'key focus' of post-virus recovery phase
As European countries fight the coronavirus pandemic, they “must not lose sight” of the EU’s climate neutrality objective, the European Commission reminded on Wednesday (8 April).
The EU executive on Wednesday launched a public consultation on its “Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy”, part of a €1 trillion package to make the European economy greener by 2030...
“Creating a more sustainable and resilient economy will be a key focus of the recovery phase and the Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy will be essential to mobilising much-needed capital,” he [Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU Commission’s executive vice-president in charge of the economy] said in a statement.
The renewed strategy will aim to boost green investments by fully integrating “climate and environmental risks into the financial system,” the Commission indicated, saying it aims to adopt the updated green finance plan in the second half of 2020...
The strategy will build on previous initiatives such as the Commission’s 2018 Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth and the reports of the Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (TEG), the EU executive said.
E3G, a climate think tank, said the importance of green finance could not be overstated, adding it will help shape Europe’s economic recovery in the wake of the current health and economic crises...