Investors with 6 trillion euros warn EU not to weaken green rules
February 05, 2025 00:00:00
BRUSSELS, Feb 4 (Reuters): Investors with 6.6 trillion euros in assets under management have urged the European Union not to weaken its sustainability rules, as Brussels draws up plans to cut red tape around green finance.
The European Commission will publish a proposal this month to simplify reporting requirements under sustainability policies that some businesses have complained are overly complex.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, the investor groups including the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, the European Sustainable Investment Forum and the Principles for Responsible Investment said a full-scale reworking of the rules could backfire, by hampering the investments in industries that Europe is trying to attract.
"Reopening these regulations in their entirety risks creating regulatory uncertainty and could ultimately jeopardise the Commission's goal to reorient capital in support of the European Green Deal," said the statement, also signed by investors including AXA Investment Managers and L&G Asset Management.
The Commission plans to simplify the EU's corporate sustainability reporting rules, its due diligence rules - which require companies to check human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains - and a third policy which classifies climate-friendly investments.
The move aims to present a counter-offer to US President Donald Trump's promise to scrap regulation, and respond to calls from struggling industries to cut red tape.
EU officials have said the proposals will include limited changes to ease the reporting burden for small businesses.