green finance in Europa vorantreiben

08.03.2018

Erfolgreiche hochkarätige Konferenz von DIW Berlin, EU-Kommission und H4SF zu Green Finance

Zwischenbericht der High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance - TitelIst Europa zwei Jahre nach der Pariser Klimakonferenz und Inkrafttreten der Sustainable Development Goals bereit, das Thema nachhaltige Finanzierung voranzutreiben und die Finanzflüsse im Dienste unserer Umwelt und einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung zu stellen? Dieser Frage wurde am 22. Februar 2018 im Rahmen einer „hochkarätigen Konferenz“ (DIW-Medienmitteilung)  in Berlin nachgegangen. Veranstaltet wurde diese von der Europäischen Kommission, dem DIW Berlin und dem Hub for Sustainable Finance Germany (H4SF). Versammelt haben sich in der Repräsentanz der Europäischen Union Akteure aus Politik, Wissenschaft, Regulierungsbehörden und dem Finanzsektor und besprochen, wo Europa in Bezug auf green finance gerade steht und wo die Reise hingeht.

Die Keynote-Rede hat EU-Kommissar Valdis Dombrovskis gehalten und hierbei einen Vorgeschmack auf den Aktionsplan der Kommission gegeben. Finanzmittel, sowohl öffentliche als auch private, müssen dringend in Richtung nachhaltige Investitionen gesteuert werden. Unter den Teilnehmenden der darauffolgenden Panels waren

  • Christian Thimann, der den Vorsitz der High Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance inne hatte;
  • Karsten Neuhoff, Leiter der Abteilung Klimapolitik am DIW Berlin;
  • DIW-Präsident Marcel Fratzscher;
  • Joachim Würmeling, Vorstandsmitglied der Deutschen Bundesbank, u.v.m..

Alle Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer waren sich einig, dass green finance in Europa vorangetrieben werden muss. Die Diskussionen machten auch klar, dass die richtigen Anreize gesetzt, die Rahmenbedingungen klug gestaltet und die Regulierung adäquat angepasst müssen, damit die Weichen richtig gestellt werden.
Einen Rückblick der Veranstaltung hier.
Berlin, 22 February 2018 – European House, Unter den Linden 78, 10117 Berlin, 1st floor

The final report by the EU high-level expert group on sustainable finance (HLEG) was delivered on 31 January, the Commission, in the meantime, “responded” with an action plan on 8 March and the March European Council will need to take a stance on it as well. More than 2 years after the “Paris Climate Deal” and the entry into force of the “Sustainable Development Goals”, is Europe ready to take sustainable finance to the next level, making finance work for sustainable development and for protecting our climate?
This and other questions were discussed at the high-level conference on sustainable finance, organized by DIW Berlin and the European Commission’s Representation in Germany in co-operation with the German Hub for Sustainable Finance on 22 February 2018 from 12 pm till 6 pm.
You can find the summary of the conference here | PDF, 157.44 KB
Program
Welcome Note The Representative of the European Commission in Germany, Richard N. Kühnel
Key Notes

Opening Debate – the policy context!

  • With an introductory note about the key findings of the EU High Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance by its Chairman, Christian Thimann, Senior Executive to the AXA Chairman

Has sustainable finance reached the financial policy mainstream?

  • Will sustainable finance be a one-off topic or become a strategic issue for the Commission, the Finance Ministry and Central Banks?
  • Is “sustainable finance” just stepping in for a failing climate policy regime or are we moving to an integrated view of what is needed from the demand and supply side of sustainable capital to avoid catastrophic climate change?
  • No regret options only or 2 degree compatibility – what will govern the ambition level of (sustainable) financial policy?
  • Does Brexit increase the degrees of freedom for EU (financial) policy makers? Will we see German leadership – or are others like France taking the lead?

Session A: Finance for sustainability – the demand for sustainable finance from firms, households and the public sector: long-term policy signals; national “capital raising plans”; increasing the “project pipeline” – what is required?

  • How can policy decisions send a sufficiently strong signal to induce sustainable long-term thinking and corresponding investment strategies on the demand side?
  • What could be the role of the German public sector in green financing?
  • What is the role of sustainable finance instruments for the “real economy” to date? What is their performance (e.g. in terms of volatility and liquidity), what is missing?
  • Karsten Neuhoff, Head of Climate Policy Department, DIW Berlin
  • Bernhard Goeke, Head of Division Climate Policy, Federal Environment Ministry, Germany
  • Gerhard Schick, Member of the German Parliament, Die Grünen
  • Moderator: Karsten Loeffler, Co-Head of the Frankfurt School – UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance

Session B: The firm level: accounting standards; disclosure and reporting; governance of firms and financial institutions.

  • How do firms reflect long-term climate and sustainability targets in their strategies? Which role for accounting standards and governance processes and what are the necessary adjustments?
  • ubstantial uncertainty about climate regulation and climate impacts, how do they affect investment decisions? Will the role of Minimum Regret Options increase?
  • Which market features drive sustainable firm-level decision making?
  • Michael Schmidt, Managing Director, Deka Investment GmbH
  • Alexander Bassen, Member of the German Sustainability Council
  • Mirjam Wolfrum, Director Policy & Reporting, CDP Europe
  • Steffen Schwartz-Höfler, Senior Manager Sustainability Strategy, Reporting & Ratings, ThyssenKrupp AG
  • Moderator: Karsten Neuhoff, Head of Climate Policy Department, DIW Berlin

Session C: Financial policy and markets: benchmarks and sustainability ratings; banking, insurance and asset owners and their roles

  • Is financial policy ambitious enough? How and when are we moving from “do-no-harm” to “2 or 1.5 degree compatibility”?
  • What drives the take-up of sustainability ratings, indices and benchmarks?
  • Different business models of different financial market actors determine the role they can play. What is their potential and what is needed for them to exercise their catalytic roles in the sustainability transition?
  • Transparency, voluntary action and regulation – what’s the right mix? Do policies sufficiently emphasize the demand side and consumer choices?
  • Silvia Kreibiehl, Co-Head of the Frankfurt School – UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance
  • Katharina Latif, Head of Corporate Responsibility, Allianz SE
  • Gerald Podobnik, Global Head of Capital Solutions & Sustainable Financing, Global Capital Markets, FSG, Deutsche Bank AG
  • Moderator: Matthias Kopp, Head Sustainable Finance, WWF Germany

Closing debate – the outlook
Where do we go from here, who will take the lead and what can we expect from policy makers in Berlin, Brussels and around the EU?

  • What are the crucial next steps and how ambitious and quick can this Commission be? Will member states play along?
  • Signals from the financial sector are largely positive, so ambitious policy action should be less contentious! Right?
  • What is possible through the EU alone, what will need to happen at national level and what internationally?
  • (How) Will sustainable finance be integrated in the day-to-day work of Finance Ministries, the European Commission and Central Banks?
  • Olivier Guersent, Director General of DG FISMA, European Commission
  • Levin Holle, Director General for Financial Policy, Federal Ministry of Finance, Germany
  • Chris Barrett, Executive Director, Finance and Economics, European Climate Foundation
  • Moderator: Christoph Bals, CEO, Germanwatch
->Quellen:

 

Über den Autor:

Gerhard Hofmann

Dr. Hofmann war bis 2008 TV-Redakteur, u.a. ARD-Korrespondent Südamerika und Chefreporter SWF, Chefkorrespondent n-tv und RTL. Als Chef der Agentur Zukunft, berät im Bereich der erneuerbaren Energien und Nachhaltigen Entwicklung, u.a. die Desertec Initiative Dii, das IASS Potsdam, acatech und die Max-Planck-Gesellschaft.

hofmann@agentur-zukunft.de