Making finance work for a sustainable future
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, contributes to the transition towards a more sustainable economy in line with the European Green Deal and global efforts to address the climate crisis.
Verena Ross, ESMA Chair, attended COP28 and spoke about ESMA’s sustainable finance work. In her role as co-Chair of the International Organization of Securities Commission’s (IOSCO) Sustainable Finance Carbon Markets Workstream, she also promoted ESMA’s and IOSCO’s contribution to the global sustainability agenda.
Verena Ross, Chair:
“Addressing climate change requires us to act now and ESMA is playing its part in contributing to the ambitious goals agreed internationally. There is an urgent need to support the financial sector in channelling the necessary resources towards sustainable investment and doing so in a way that preserves investors’ trust.
“At COP28, I continue to convey ESMA’s and IOSCO’s role in supporting the financial sector’s effort to aid the transition to a climate neutral and sustainable economy. In particular, as co-Chair of IOSCO’s carbon markets workstream, I am advocating for enhancing the integrity and orderly functioning of Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs), on the back of the launch of IOSCO’s consultation paper on good practices for VCMs.”
International cooperation is key to ensuring that consistent measures are taken to protect investors and support financial stability, as the demand for sustainability-related financial products continues to grow. Building an internationally comparable set of rules and principles that are applicable across the entire sustainable investment value chain will help to address the global challenges facing us.
ESMA's mandate and determination to integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors across all its activities is reflected in ESMA’s Strategy and the Sustainable Finance Roadmap. Given our core investor protection role, ESMA focuses on building and maintaining a trusted environment for sustainable investing. The ultimate objective is to support channelling the necessary capital flows to meet the EU’s decarbonization targets as well as its wider environmental and social objectives.
ESMA has been engaging extensively with stakeholders to provide guidance around the sustainable finance regulatory framework. Working with the national supervisors to ensure consistent implementation and effective and convergent supervision and enforcement of the ESG framework at is equally important. In this context, ESG disclosures became one of our two Union-wide strategic supervisory priorities.
To better understand ESMA’s contribution to the sustainable finance agenda in 2023 and our future work in 2024, check Annex 1 or this set of visuals.
Further information:
Dan Nacu-Manole
Communications Officer
@ Email: press@esma.europa.eu