Making finance work for a sustainable future – Press Release

ESMA published a press release in the context of the speech of Verena Ross, ESMA Chair, at the COP28.
Therein the key points are:
1. ESMA is actively contributing to the transition towards a more sustainable economy in alignment with the European Green Deal, being committed to addressing climate change and supporting the financial sector in channeling resources toward sustainable investments. ESMA plays a key role in international cooperation, particularly as the co-Chair of the International Organization of Securities Commission’s Sustainable Finance Carbon Markets Workstream.
2. ESMA integrates ESG factors across its activities, with a focus on investor protection and building a trusted environment for sustainable investing. The organization engages extensively with stakeholders to provide guidance on the sustainable finance regulatory framework and collaborates with national supervisors for consistent implementation.
3. ESMA’s contributions to sustainable finance in 2023 and future plans for 2024 include addressing greenwashing, providing reports on voluntary disclosures, amending regulations, and offering guidelines for funds‘ names. The organization is actively involved in areas such as issuers‘ disclosures, benchmarks, credit rating agencies, central counterparties, EU Green Bond Regulation, ESG ratings regulation, and ESG risk assessment and market monitoring activities.
4. ESMA is committed to monitoring and assessing ESG-related market developments, risks, and potential greenwashing, and it plans to contribute to joint climate scenario analysis. The organization is also building capacities through training programs and establishing a Sustainable Finance Knowledge Hub to support regulators.