Will the EU sustainable finance rules deliver?

In the last few years, the world has seen an unprecedented number of initiatives and actions in the field of sustainable finance. Around the globe, investors, regulators, and financial market participants are intent on changing the financial system to increase the volume of investments aligned with the Paris agreement, while increasing transparency on the impacts of their portfolios. The EU has been at the forefront of these efforts: it has created legally binding rules on non-financial risk disclosure, as well as a taxonomy of sustainable economic activities. The EU has been a first-mover in this space. The question is: will the new EU rules make a tangible difference? 

This policy brief deals with five questions on the expected impact of the new rules. It argues that the EU sustainable finance rules will lead to additional Paris-aligned investments on the back of a lower cost of capital for sustainable investments. These rules will have maximum impact if they are a part of a package of broader climate policies, including carbon pricing. Global coordination of sustainable finance rules would help, but it is not a prerequisite for success. The EU’s learning by doing approach will provide valuable lessons to the finance world, especially on the metrics that make the impact of financial decisions transparent.