Category Archives: Economy

EU social taxonomy and taxonomy extension linked to environment reports

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The draft proposal for a social taxonomy will argue that in the face of a pandemic, unanswered social questions around a sustainable transition, continuing human rights abuses and continuously rising costs for housing, the time is right to identify economic activities that contribute to advancing social objectives. Just as the EU environmental taxonomy defines activities that substantially contribute to environmental objectives, a social taxonomy would do the same for social objectives.

Built on the foundation of international norms and principles like the sustainable development goals (SDG) and the UN guiding principles for businesses and human rights, a social taxonomy would help investors to contribute to finance solutions around ensuring decent work, enabling inclusive and sustainable communities and affordable healthcare and housing. A social taxonomy would be a tool to help investors identify opportunities to contribute to these objectives.

The Public Consultation Report on Taxonomy extension options linked to environmental objectives will be focussed on support for the environmental transition needed in the whole economy – it proposes further clarity on both: activities that are significantly harmful to environmental sustainability, and those that have no significant impact on it. The aim is to support transitions in areas currently of “significant harm”. They should transition to a level that at least does not cause significant harm, even if they do not actually reach substantial contribution (green). The report will set out options to build on the existing taxonomy and its use.

The Platform on Sustainable Finance will welcome stakeholder feedback on both drafts through two calls for feedback, which will run from 12 July to 27 August 2021. Platform’s advice on this will feed into Commission’s report on potential extension of taxonomy framework to be adopted by the end of 2021.

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How climate change drivers affect financial firms in the EU

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The European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) published a join report on climate-related risk and financial stability. It states three forms of risk concentration:

A.- Physical climate hazards: are concentrated at the regional level, with more vulnerability to river flooding, wildfire, heat and water stress risk. Around 30% of the euro area banking sector’s credit exposures to non-financial companies are to firms that are subject to a combination of these physical hazards.

B.- Emission-intensive firms: occupy 14% of collective euro area banking sector balance sheets. It is mainly concentrated in the manufacturing, electricity, transportation & construction sectors.

C.- Climate risk drivers: are concentrated in specific financial intermediaries. Around 70% of banking system credit exposures to firms subject physical risk are concentrated in 25 banks. Scope for financial market repricing associated with transition risk will be particularly large for investment funds. EU Taxonomy stands at only 1% of assets.

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Commission puts forward New strategy for Sustainable Finance and proposes new European Green Bond Standard

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The Commission also adopted yesteday a Delegated Act on the information to be disclosed by financial and non-financial companies about how sustainable their activities are, based on Article 8 of the EU Taxonomy.

Thus, EU took another major step towards achieving the goals in the Green Deal by ensuring a comprehensive approach to funding the green transition.

EU proposed incorporating climate-related risks into banks’ capital requirements. The challenge for lenders is weaning themselves off their lending exposure to fossil fuels. Their initial disclosures have been limited and commercial lenders still have “patchy” data regarding their exposure to climate change.

The ECB will hold a stress test next year to see how their balance sheets may fare as the climate and economy shifts. EU states will be asked to assess by June 2023 how their financial markets contribute to reaching the bloc’s climate goals. ECB will then calibrate the right pace for the transition by setting intermediate targets for the financial sector. Insurance capital rules may also be similarly amended.

The Commission confirmed it will publish taxonomy rules later this year for agriculture, certain industries and possibly nuclear and gas power plants. EU needed to guard against the risks associated with the transition, thus considering an “intermediate taxonomy” that would allow transition bonds.

The strategy seeks to empower individuals and the bloc’s 23 million SME by defining green loans and mortgages by 2022. New accounting rules may also be needed to “recognise and report” ESG risks in financial statements.

The strategy sets out a positive vision of the reform needed in the financial system to support the European economy.

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New EU measures for transitioning to a Sustainable Economy

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The EU Strategy for Financing the Transition to a Sustainable Economy, and the rulebook for green bonds will be unveiled next week. They center around the Green Deal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

The EU strategy will propose tightening reporting requirements for financial entities, by incorporating climate-related risks into credit ratings and bank capital requirements. It will also enable supervisors to address greenwashing.

The European Commission (EC) will invite the ESMA to assess how ESG factors are incorporated by credit rating agencies and will consider proposing an initiative to make sure those risks are captured by the assessments. The EC will also ask the ECB to conduct regular climate change stress tests.

The strategy paves the way for financing activities such as natural gas during the transition, after Germany and Poland pushed for including it in the taxonomy, despite the resistance of the others member states. Thus, BAU is falling under the agenda of sustainable finance.

Supervision of ESG risks for credit institutions and investment firms

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The European Banking Authority (EBA) published yesterday a report which provides recommendations for institutions to incorporate ESG risks-related considerations in strategies and objectives, governance structures, and to manage these risks as drivers of financial risks in their risk appetite and internal capital allocation process. The EBA also recommends developing methodologies and approaches to test the long-term resilience of institutions against ESG factors and risks including the use of scenario analysis.

EBA sees a need applying at least a 10 years horizon to capture ESG related risks, proposing a phase-in approach. This Report should be considered in conjunction with the EBA and ESAs disclosure publications under the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR), the Taxonomy Regulation and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The EBA will publish Pillar 3 disclosure requirements on ESG risks, transition risks and physical risks, as defined in this Report, later this year.

The report will be taken into consideration in the context of the Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy, the review of CRR/CRD, and an update of the SREP Guidelines to include ESG risks in the supervision of credit institutions.

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Countries’ map developing National Action Plans (NAPs) on Business and Human Rights

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NAPs are policy documents in which a government articulates priorities and actions that it will adopt to support the implementation of international, regional, or national obligations and commitments with regard to a given policy area or topic.

The UN Working Group on human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises (UN Working Group), mandated by the Human Rights Council to promote the effective and comprehensive implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), noted in its 2016 Guidance on business and human rights NAPs that they can be an important means to promote the implementation of the UNGPs.

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The EU Green Bond Standard (EU GBS

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It will be logically voluntary. It will be ready to be used in 2022 and aims to set the global standard. Global ESG debt market tops 3 TUSD, with Europe taking a lead as nearly a quarter of its bond sales this year were related to social factors.

Sovereign issuers will be granted some flexibility to assess government spending programs based on their terms and conditions. The 27-member bloc itself is set to become one of the largest issuers, with 30% of its 800 BEUR pandemic recovery funding planned as green debt.

The ESMA will determine whether a bond is green or not, with external reviewers to be approved by the body. Issuers should disclose impact assessments at least once, as well as annual allocation reports for how the funds were used and they will be free to align their bonds alongside other standards.

EU GBS affords issuers an opportunity to launch taxonomy-aligned green bonds at a potentially lower cost of capital. For investors, the standard affords an opportunity to make investments in green bonds that are credible and easier to report on.

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Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) update of their economic scenarios

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Reaching net zero by 2050 could lift growth and employment but would require an inflation-boosting $160 per tonne carbon price — or equivalent “shadow price” — by the end of the decade. This will push up inflation and also raise unemployment in some countries with energy-intensive industries.

Only a relatively quick and orderly transition to a low carbon economy would add to growth while a delayed transition or no action would cut deep into the economy.If these changes occur in an orderly fashion, the scenarios suggest that it could lead to some increase in global GDP, and lower unemployment relative to prior trends.If the transition fails, the scenarios suggest that up to 13% of global GDP would be at risk by the end of the century, even before accounting for the potential consequences of severe weather events.

Currently about a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions are covered by a carbon price.

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My study: The finance, sustainability and energy nexus

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CapturaThe study highlights the importance of promoting and coordinating the collaboration of the different financial actors to address the priority sustainability challenges (sustainable finace). It analyses the different mechanisms that are facilitating the integration of climate change policies and emphasizes the interest of considering the financial sector, in the coordination of policies, such as the implementation of new Laws on Climate Change and Energy Transition.

The study analyses the different mechanisms that are facilitating the integration of sustainability policies in the financial sector driven by the  and the Sustainable Development Goals. The G20 and UNEP FI are driving the finance, sustainability and energy nexus through different initiatives which are covered in the work (e.g. TCFD, GFSG, CFSG, PRI, PSI, SSE, PIF). The analysis highlights the importance of other initiatives related to green and climate bonds (green finance), sustainable banking, standards, reporting, indexes, methodologies and sustainability associations.

The inclusion of green securities in the stock market would foster new possibilities for channelling investments, financing debt and opening the door to new sustainable business models nationally and regionally. The analysis highlights the importance of promoting and coordinating the collaboration of the different financial actors to address priority challenges such as climate change, through consulting and involving key actors such as banking regulators, stock exchanges, financial institutions, insurance companies, institutional investors, credit agencies, corporations and relevant ministries.

The complete Spanish version is accessible on http://bit.ly/2prIEBo
An executive summary in English is accessible on http://bit.ly/2pIEq5A

My book “Internationalization, Sustainable Development and Renewable Energy: Latin America”.

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“The book makes a multidisciplinary analysis (trade, electricity market, sustainable development, regulation, technology, market agents, investments and financing) of the renewable energy sector in Latin America.“

The work starts with an introductory chapter presenting the need for internationalization of the renewable energy sector, which has a natural development market in Latin America. It then shows the needs, threats and opportunities of the Latin American Electricity Markets. It subsequently proceeds to analyse the sustainable development question in the energy sector, which allows us to enter into the issues associated with climate change and univWIP Cover Frontal Resized ENersal access to energy, focusing the analysis on Latin America. From here, the job carries out a critical study of the different renewable energy support mechanisms in the region. Afterwards, it studies the national R&D programs. The writing continues with the agents of the market and the roles and issues they find in their value chain within the region. From it, the book introduces the subject of investment, uncovering the ultimate problem, as well as the origin and destination of the investment flows that Latin America has received in renewable energy. Before finalizing, it analyses the financial instruments used for investment in renewable energy. Finally, the work ends with two real business cases of investment in power plants, which are financially modelled (Project Finance and Project Bonds). As a final conclusion, the writing highlights business opportunities, obstacles and solutions, all influencing the development of renewable energies in the region.

“The book is a vivid example of the great importance of the coordination among different sectors and areas (e.g. financial, monetary, fiscal, political, economic, business, technological, social, etc.), which have different cycles and operations, in order to face the major challenges of mankind today.”

Available now on Amazon here

Follow me on twitter: @MiguelChamochin