New standard for European green bonds to facilitate raising capital for sustainable projects
The European Commission has presented the Strategy for Financing the Transition to a Sustainable Economy, a proposal for standards for European green bonds and non-financial reporting requirements complementing the Taxonomy Regulation. However, the European Court of Auditors’ Special Report states that despite these steps, the Commission is not making sufficient efforts in the area of sustainable financing. In addition to increasing the transparency of financial products, the Court believes it is important to develop measures that genuinely address the issue of unsustainable business.
What is the future of the energy industry in the EU? Our new Deloitte study answers this question, examining various economic trends and predicting what changes the European energy market will see in the coming years. But the pace of development is rapid, as the European Commission is aware, which is why it has presented a proposal to update the ‘Fit for 55’ package. This promises a fundamental transformation of energy strategy and a clear vision for the future. One of the main themes addressed by the new legislation is the development of renewable energy sources. And the waste that is produced upon their disposal presents an opportunity for the circular economy and the application of circular principles in renewables.
Environmental litigations are on the rise and drive the fight against climate crisis
A ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union will fundamentally change the rules for protecting international energy investment in the EU. Member states will thus be in a much better position in terms of shutting down old energy sources. Environmentally friendly policies are an important issue in the EU, which is also manifested by a fine of EUR 875 million imposed on a car manufacturers’ cartel that did not comply with the agreement on the use of eco-friendly technologies to reduce emissions from combustion engines. The global number of climate litigations is in general rising significantly and becoming a key instrument in pushing states and private companies to take climate change seriously.
EU to focus more on the greening of agriculture and forestry, aiming to mitigate climate change
The European Commission has adopted a new forest strategy for 2030 which aims to enhance the ecosystem services and strengthen their role in combating climate change. The document focuses on two principal areas: production of wood and non-wood production of forests. Farmers also got new strategies – an agreement was achieved on a new Common Agricultural Policy. In this case, the emphasis is also put on the greening of the sector, support of eco-schemes, measures responding to climate change and protection of biodiversity.
The European Commission presented the most comprehensive set of climate and energy proposals to date
The climate and biodiversity situation is alarming. The report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasises that human activities have been warming the planet at a rate unprecedented in the last 2,000 years. In order to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement, the European Commission presented a set of proposals entitled ‘Fit for 55’, the introduction of which is supposed to allow for the necessary acceleration of the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the quality of set governmental measures by individual countries aiming to achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement significantly differs at a global level and the comparison shows that certain countries are significantly lagging behind.
Members of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic
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