02 / 07 / 2020
EARTO Response to the EC Consultation on the Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy
EARTO and its members very much welcomed the European Commission’s stakeholder consultation on the Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy published in April 2020, as it aims to provide the policy tools to ensure that the financial systems genuinely supports the transition of businesses towards sustainability in a context of recovery, including R&I investments. The insights of RTOs preparing, providing, implementing the sustainable solutions of today and tomorrow are important. In order to ensure that financial markets and their participants invest in sustainable projects supported or generated by entities like RTOs, EARTO feedback specifically focuses on the questions addressing the future role of R&I in the Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy. Accordingly, EARTO members would like to put forward some comments mainly on:- Reducing the adjustment cost of investments in R&I: To EU ensure that the financial tools developed to increase sustainable investment flows turn R&I into investable (bankable) opportunities will require for InvestEU to aim at enhancing the transfer and successful deployment of R&I into bankable opportunities.
- Strengthening the credibility and stability of markets for clean technologies, products and processes: The EU actions should also aim at strengthening the credibility and stability of markets for clean technologies, products and processes to enhance attractiveness of investments in R&I through climate, industry and product policies.
- Introducing a category “R&I” into the EU taxonomy: To guide and raise investments in R&I to accelerate sustainable development and the achievement of objectives of the Green Deal, the introduction of a category “R&I” into the EU taxonomy is a necessity to clarify the contributions to climate change mitigation and adaptation, environmental and social objectives.
- Creating Alternative funding schemes based on pooled funding: Synergies and pooling financial resources’ are necessary to meet the ambition of capital-intensive industrial projects.
- Creating a dedicated R&I advisory hub under Invest EU R&I Window: Investments in R&I require extensive expert knowledge, which is costly, while their positive knowledge spill-over effects have been demonstrated. R&I projects would benefit from an involvement of technical, commercial and financial advisory to help an early transition to bankable projects ready to be accelerated towards industrialization and commercialisation.
