Debate: European green bonds
Date: WEDNESDAY, 4 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Mairead McGuinness
Language: EN

Dear colleagues, to those who’ve been involved in this file, a huge thank you to you as a team of negotiators. You have done good work. I think we’re all in a good mood here because we have reason to celebrate. You know, Paul, I very much liked your speech of transparency, trust and transition. They’re three important Ts. And for me, we are now taking a very big step to making the European green bond standard a reality. We talked about it for a long time. It is now becoming a reality. We’re also a step closer to companies issuing their own European green bonds, to companies meeting our ambitious criteria in the standard to raise money for the green transition. And we are a step closer to a complete EU sustainable finance framework. I do say, and I hope you will agree, that the final text strikes the right balance between ambition and pragmatism. Thanks to this balance, we have a real chance to make this standard the gold standard for green bonds. Our European green bond standard is based on the EU taxonomy and the detailed criteria it sets out for sustainable activities so both issuers and investors can be assured of the credentials of any bonds issued using the standard. And there are high levels of transparency. The standard will help issuers raise capital for green investments. It will make it easier for investors to pick sustainable investment opportunities. Crucially, it will fight and help us to continue fighting greenwashing. External reviewers of the European green bond standard will be subject to European supervision, and this is a first for green bonds. ESMA will be in charge of supervising reviewers that want to offer their services to the issuers of European green bonds. This will help ensure these reviewers have the right procedures and structures in place and it will give them the credibility they need to build up their businesses. Something that’s really positive is the attention paid to making sure that this is a process accessible also to smaller reviewers. I think this is one crucial part of our work because a vibrant market needs issuers and reviewers that are both big and small to be able to participate. We hope the European green bond standard will spur issuers to be ambitious when seeking funding for green projects. Now, all that said, we still have work to do. The European green bond standard is voluntary. That means it will have to prove itself in a crowded marketplace. Issuers and investors alike need to see it as an attractive option. The Commission and ESMA have to put in place technical measures to make sure that the standard functions effectively in practice. The Commission will also prepare user-friendly disclosure templates. These templates can be used by all issuers of green bonds, whether they use the European green bond standard or not, as well as sustainability linked bonds. They will help connect issuers of green bonds, making at least some use of the EU taxonomy, with investors who want clear and standardised access to information about those green bonds. The Commission will also keep supporting the Parliament and the Council to reach agreement on the Listing Act. The Commission confirms its intention to treat any potential mandates to develop standardised annexes for the disclosure of environmental, social and governance-related information in the EU prospectus with swiftness, taking into account the experience with the voluntary guidelines prepared for green bonds in the European Green Bond Regulation. This statement in relation to ESG has been transmitted to Parliament. Finally, I really want to give you my thanks again. You know that we have reached this milestone together. Next, we want this European green bond standard to be widely used, because that will be a measure of success. I know that I can count on you for your support to encourage market players to make this happen, and I look forward to our debate.