On 21 April 2021, the EU Commission published a new package of measures to further promote sustainability in the financial system.
- Firstly, the measures include the highly-anticipated EU Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act which establishes the technical screening criteria to determine whether economic activities qualify as being aligned to the two environmental goals ‘climate change mitigation’ and ‘climate change adaptation’.
- Secondly, the EU Commission presented its proposal for a new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) which, once adopted, would significantly extend non-financial reporting obligations of commercial companies.
- Thirdly, the package includes six delegated acts on sustainability preferences, fiduciary duties and product governance relevant for MiFID investment firms, AIFMs, UCITS management companies and insurances.
The sustainable finance package underlines the EU Commission’s continued ambition to transform its financial policy towards sustainability and direct private capital towards its climate policy goals.
