EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance: Everything You Wanted to Know, But Were Too Afraid to Ask

Climate Risk Podcast

Hear from Eila Kreivi, Chief Sustainable Finance Advisor at the European Investment Bank, as we take a closer look at the EU Taxonomy, including what it is and isn’t, how it developed, and what it means for the future of sustainable finance.

A key challenge with tackling climate change is how to channel the vast amount of private sector investment towards activities that are ‘green’ or transitioning to green. Taxonomies are potentially useful, setting out definitions and thresholds for activities to count as green. But although taxonomies have the potential to improve market clarity and reduce ‘greenwash’, they are resource intensive to construct and are open to misuse.

The EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance is one of the most ambitious green taxonomies in the world, and has been the subject of much debate (and confusion) since its ratification in 2020. That’s why in today’s episode, we’ll set the record straight on what the EU taxonomy does, what it doesn’t do, and how what it means for financial professionals, including:

• The history of the Taxonomy and its high-level objectives,
• How the Taxonomy’s implementation is shaped by both science and politics,
• How the Taxonomy may evolve in the future.

Links from today’s discussion:

• European Investment Bank (EIB) homepage: https://www.eib.org/en/index.htm
• International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) homepage: https://www.icmagroup.org
• European Commission – The High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance’s reports: https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/sustainable-finance-high-level-expert-group_en
• ‘Do no significant harm’ - Technical Guidance by the EU Commission - https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/2021_02_18_epc_do_not_significant_harm_-technical_guidance_by_the_commission.pdf
• Mark Campanale on the Climate Risk podcast (discusses the EU Taxonomy at 00:16:08) - https://www.garp.org/podcast/net-zero-supply-side-issue-cr-220303
• European Banking Authority on bank reporting standards for environmentally sustainable activities - https://www.eba.europa.eu/eba-advises-commission-kpis-transparency-institutions%E2%80%99-environmentally-sustainable-activities
• European Commission – Platform on Sustainable Finance: https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/banking-and-finance/sustainable-finance/overview-sustainable-finance/platform-sustainable-finance_en
• European Commission – International Platform on Sustainable Finance: https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/banking-and-finance/sustainable-finance/international-platform-sustainable-finance_en

Speaker Bio

Eila Kreivi, Chief Sustainable Finance Advisor, European Investment Bank (EIB)

Eila took up her current position at the EIB in February 2022. Over her 27-year career at the EIB, she held numerous positions, including most recently as Director of its Capital Markets Department.

Previously, Eila has chaired the Executive Committee of the Green Bond Principles and she represented the EIB at the EU High-level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. In October 2020, she became a member of the Platform on Sustainable Finance, an advisory body created by the European Commission.