Part II: The European Commission’s Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities and other Key EU Action Plan Developments

In Part I of this webinar series, we discussed the ambition and scope of the European Commission's Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth and the implications for institutional investors. Join us for Part II of this series where we'll provide an update on significant legislative developments, flag important consultations and the opportunity to provide feedback, and review what to anticipate from the EU next. 

Agenda: 

Timely updates on key legislative streams, including: Taxonomy, Benchmark Regulation, and ESG Disclosures

Overview of current and upcoming consultations where you may wish to provide feedback

Deep dive on Taxonomy: what are the latest developments, how is MSCI approaching Taxonomy analysis, latest investor feedback on implementation 

MSCI solutions for aligning with the EU requirements, including: benchmark ESG disclosures on msci.com, Paris-aligned indexes, sustainability disclosures reporting, and other upcoming plans 

 
About the EU Commission Sustainable Finance Action Plan
In March 2018, the European Commission published its Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth.1 The action plan will have impacts all along the investment value chain including on Asset Owners, Asset Managers, Insurance Companies, Banks, Brokers/Dealers, Advisors, Credit Rating Agencies, Index Providers and Issuers. The plan includes very comprehensive measures with the aim of reorienting capital flows to sustainable investments, managing financial risks stemming from ESG issues like climate change and environmental degradation, and fostering transparency and long-termism in capital markets. The cornerstone of the plan calls for the establishment of a unified EU classification system for sustainable activities (the “taxonomy”), which is intended to provide guidance on activities qualifying as contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation, environmental and social objectives.   In March 2020, the EU’s Technical Expert Group on sustainable finance published its final report on the EU taxonomy2 for environmentally-sustainable economic activities.  This is one of many elements of the plan experiencing new developments through 2020. 

1 https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/180308-action-plan-sustainable-growth_en
2 https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/sustainable-finance-teg-taxonomy_en