(En français ci-dessous)

Greentervention is proud to join forces with other civil society organisations and propose this joint report about the Commission European Green Deal.

Mrs von der Leyen has proposed an ambitious European Green Deal. This briefing, prepared by civil society organisations, welcomes the proposal and calls on the new Commission President to equip the proposal with a financing framework equal to the task. We believe that a real, game-changing Green Deal is feasible in the short-term – but only if the European Commission can succeed in overhauling the conditions for both private and public financing.

Summary of recommendations

Shifting private finance from brown to green:

• Amend the non-financial reporting directive to ensure mandatory and harmonized ESG corporate reporting
• Bring a legislative proposal on human rights and environmental due diligence
• Make the ‘Green taxonomy’ mandatory for green products and create a ‘Brown taxonomy’
• Deliver a consistent ‘EU Ecolabel’ for retail investors
• Give institutional investors a duty to reflect their customers’ sustainability preferences
• Penalize brown bank lending in prudential regulations
• Implement existing proposals to reduce short-termism in financial markets
• Revise the CMU strategy to reduce systemic risk and integrate sustainability measures
• Review the Credit Rating Agency regulation to ensure integration of ESG risks
• Use stress tests and macroprudential tools to reduce climate-related financial risks
• ‘Green’ the ECB’s collateral framework and corporate bond asset purchases

Mobilising public finance to help fund the transition:

• Link the European Semester to the EU’s environment and social targets
• Give the new Commissioner for the Green Deal the ability to influence financial policy
• Reform fiscal rules to facilitate public investment in decarbonizing the economy
• Eliminate fossil-fuel subsidies via a reporting regime and phase-out plan
• Double the portion of the EU’s budget spent on climate and environment from 25% to 50%
• Ensure that all EU spending is consistent with Paris Agreement goals
• Use the EU’s Cohesion Fund to increase funding for a ‘Just transition’
• Increase the size of the ‘InvestEU’ fund and give it a greater focus on climate
• Upgrade the EIB with more capital, stronger governance, a fossil-free mandate, and green bond programme
• Mobilise funding from the EBRD and the Council of Europe Development Bank
• Develop the EU’s network of National Promotional Banks
• Review the impact of State Aid rules on National Promotional Banks
• Publish a Communication on “The role of NPBs in the European Green Deal”
• Adopt a ‘market-shaping’ approach in competition rules
• Promote fossil- free investing by export credit agencies and other public financial institutions
• Revise the EU Energy Tax Directive to meet Paris Agreement goals

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Le rapport est également disponible en français.

Greentervention est heureux de vous proposer aussi une note de lecture en français liée à cette problématique : les règles budgétaires européennes et leur évaluation récente par le Conseil Budgétaire Européen (CBE).

Le CBE réalise un bilan critique de ces règles budgétaires complexes et peu transparentes, défavorables à l’investissement public pourtant nécessaire en soutien des politiques climatiques, et qui non pas non plus suscité de façon satisfaisante une convergence vers le bas des niveaux de dette publique – ce qui était son objectif principal. Revisiter la logique des critères de Maastricht est donc urgent.