6.4.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 152/105
Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on European green bonds’ (COM(2021) 391 final — 2021/0191 (COD)) (2022/C 152/17)
Rapporteur: Philip VON BROCKDORFF
Referrals
Council, 12.8.2021 European Parliament, 13.9.2021
Legal basis
Articles 114 and 304 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
Section responsible
Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion
Adopted in section
23.11.2021
Adopted at plenary
8.12.2021
Plenary session No
565
Outcome of vote (for/against/abstentions)
123/1/4
1.
Conclusions and recommendations 1.1.
The ‘voluntary’ EU green bond standard creates a regime underpinned by transparency and supervision.
Under such a regime, projects that are in line with the EU taxonomy of sustainable activities would be eligible for funding, and issuers would need to provide additional information at the time of issuance, and subsequently through regular reporting on the use of proceeds and project impact.
1.2.
The EESC believes that the EU green bond standard also has the potential to yield significant economic benefits for both issuers and investors alike.
This is possible because the proposal aims to create a universal, credible and streamlined mechanism for the issuance of green bonds, minimising informational asymmetries while conveying significant reputational benefits to issuers under this standard.
1.3.
The EESC considers that the alignment of such bonds with the EU Taxonomy Regulation also makes them suited to funding economic activities that support the transition towards more sustainable and decarbonised economies.
1.4.
The proposed standard would also assist in significantly reducing existing levels of uncertainty regarding the types of assets or expenditures that can be reasonably classified as being a green use of capital.
However, because of the aforementioned alignment with the EU Taxonomy, the EESC is of the view that clear guidance on the part of the Commission is needed to direct investors towards EU green bonds and projects that positively impact the environment.
1.5.
The EESC is of the view that in further developing green bonds as an asset class, it is necessary to apply a uniform standard across Member States and applicable to issuers.
However, one should not underestimate the challenge of issuers complying with the standards in the EU Taxonomy.
In all likelihood, they would weigh the costs of an external review against the benefits of accessing a wider investor base.
A situation where private issuers may prefer alternative green bonds and less onerous certification processes needs to be avoided.
1.6.
The proposed reporting and compliance procedures may also have a disproportionate financial impact on SMEs, who may find the EU green standard to be too punitive, and thus discourage further growth.
This too needs to be avoided and hence the EESC recommends a pragmatic approach in terms of the supervision and reporting requirements.
Avoiding over prescription and over regulation, including in the case of corporate issuers, would facilitate the adoption of the EU green bond standard across capital markets.
In decarbonising economies, corporate issuers are deemed as equally important as the Commission’s issue of green bonds, and the EESC is of the view that standards applied for green bonds issued by public sector and corporate issuers need to converge.