Building back greener: Sustainable finance and the Green Deal

Video and audio recordings

In the coming years Europe will seek to mobilise its enlarged budget towards recovery while at the same time finance the ambitious Green Deal. It is clear taxpayers alone cannot bear the brunt of the cost: banks and capital markets will need to play a key role in mobilising the required finance. In this panel Bruegel will explore whether the EU’s sustainable finance agenda has already led to a reallocation of funds, and what further support could be given through regulation.

While new instruments such as green bonds are increasingly popular their role in creating additional sustainable investment is often questioned. The issue of 'greenwashing' is a persistent threat to the integrity and transparency of green finance. The panel will explore what other policies will be needed to support the sector, especially in light of the publication of an 'ambitious' sustainable finance strategy by the Commission at the beginning of this year and the implementation of both an EU taxonomy regulation and the climate benchmark regulation.

To what extent will additional regulations – disclosures, taxonomy etc – incentivise banks and investors to undertake additional investment?

Speech by Klaas Knot