Is the EU Action Plan for Sustainable Finance A Game Changer?

2021 ◽  
pp. 3-9
Author(s):  
Karen Wendt
Keyword(s):  
Action Plan ◽  
Sustainable Finance ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Game Changer

scholarly journals Sustainable finance: the European Union’s approach to increasing sustainable investments and growth – opportunities and challenges

2019 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duco Claringbould ◽  
Martin Koch ◽  
Philip Owen
Keyword(s):  
Action Plan ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Green Finance ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Sustainable Finance ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Sustainable Investments ◽  
The Eu

Summary: The article provides an overview of the most important current EU initiatives contributing to sustainable finance. After an introduction on how the concept of sustainability entered the domain of European policy, the definition of sustainable finance from the EU perspective is discussed, as well as its relationship to the concept of green finance. After outlining the need for sustainable finance to achieve EU and international policy goals, the article provides a discussion of sustainable finance from a theoretical perspective, taking into account already existing perspectives from literature. A brief overview is given of what the EU could theoretically do to foster sustainable finance. The article then proceeds with an overview of the most important existing EU initiatives to foster sustainable finance: the Action Plan on financing sustainable growth adopted in March 2018, the EU Emissions Trading System and EU financial support contributing to sustainable finance. Finally, the article provides a discussion of the challenges and political implications of current sustainable finance policies for the EU, followed by conclusions.

scholarly journals Green Bonds: Between economic incentives and eco-change

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 236-245
Author(s):  
Răzvan Hoinaru ◽  
Cedine Benson ◽  
Georgiana Oana Stănilă ◽  
Florin Dobre ◽  
Daniel Buda
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Bond Market ◽  
Market Development ◽  
Private Capital ◽  
Financial Products ◽  
Sustainable Finance ◽  
Climate Crisis ◽  
The Eu

AbstractAs the investor base committed to financing sustainable companies in an attempt to combat the climate crisis expands, green financial products have become more attractive to issuers, corporate and sovereign alike. As a result, the EU is attempting to create favourable market conditions which mobilise the allocation of private capital for investments that reduce the contribution to climate change. As part of the EU Commission’s Action Plan for Sustainable Finance, it intends to create Green Bond Standards which aim to support the transition to greener securities investments. As a foundation, we provide an overview of the green bond market development. We then consider investment challenges such as incentivisation and transparency and discuss whether the Green Bond Standards shall likely resolve these issues. Furthermore, we confer that enforceability of current green securities regulations is weak to non-existent and propose possible policy approaches which address these issues.

scholarly journals Will the EU Commission Successfully Integrate Sustainability Risks and Factors in the Investor Protection Regime? A Research Agenda

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 6292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siri ◽  
Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Product Information ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Investor Protection ◽  
Financial Education ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Sustainable Finance ◽  
The Eu

Building a common EU framework for sustainable finance undoubtedly implies the integration of sound and sustainable processes and skills across the whole structure and governance of financial institutions. Consequently, a new financial paradigm is going to be needed, which will require the strengthening of investor care and protection, so contributing to the restoration of trust in the financial sector. In particular, on 18 December 2018, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) launched two public consultations on draft technical advice for the integration of sustainability risks and factors into the Directive on Markets in Financial Instruments (MiFID), the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), and the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities Directive (UCITS) regimes, with the aim to clarify the so-called fiduciary duties and to increase transparency in the financial services industry. However, the success of the EU initiatives on investor protection regulation may be seriously endangered by the existence of many challenges, weaknesses, and contradictions raised by economists and stakeholders in relation to the definition of sustainability, ESG data availability and reliability, the development of an EU taxonomy, conflicts of interest, product governance, and suitability assessment. This paper starts by briefly analyzing the recent developments of the regulation of sustainable finance at the global level, then offers a more detailed view on the establishment of a common regime on sustainable finance in the EU, with particular reference to the action plan ‘Financing Sustainable Growth’. Then, it examines the recent proposals for regulation on sustainable finance, specifically considering the barriers to the integration of sustainability risks and factors in the EU investor protection regulation—with particular reference to investment services—with respect to its four main dimensions: (1) disclosure of product information, (2) conduct of business (COB) rules, (3) product governance and intervention, and (4) financial education. The paper concludes that the EU reforming proposals, though admirable, risk oversimplifying a complex issue that cannot be easily solved without considering its practical implications on each category of financial operators in the performance of different financial services.

European experience in transition to circular economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.V. Ratner
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
European Experience ◽  
General Scientific ◽  
The Eu

Subject. The article considers the concept of circular economy, which has originated relatively recently in the academic literature, and is now increasingly recognized in many countries at the national level. In the European Union, the transition to circular economy is viewed as an opportunity to improve competitiveness of the European Union, protect businesses from resource shortages and fluctuating prices for raw materials and supplies, and a way to increase employment and innovation. Objectives. The aim of the study is to analyze the incentives developed by the European Commission for moving to circular economy, and to assess their effectiveness on the basis of statistical analysis. Methods. I employ general scientific methods of research. Results. The analysis of the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy enabled to conclude that the results of the recent research in circular economy barriers, eco-innovation, technology and infrastructure were successfully integrated into the framework of this document. Understanding the root causes holding back the circular economy development and the balanced combination of economic and administrative incentives strengthened the Action Plan, and it contributed to the circular economy development in the EU. Conclusions. The measures to stimulate the development of the circular economy proposed in the European Action Plan can be viewed as a prototype for designing similar strategies in other countries, including Russia. Meanwhile, a more detailed analysis of barriers to the circular economy at the level of individual countries and regions is needed.

scholarly journals The Biosimilar Landscape: An Overview of Regulatory Approvals by the EMA and FDA

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Ioana Gherghescu ◽  
M. Begoña Delgado-Charro
Keyword(s):  
Drug Administration ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
European Medicines Agency ◽  
Patient Access ◽  
Clinical Evaluations ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Us ◽  
Improve Patient ◽  
The Eu

Biosimilar medicines expand the biotherapeutic market and improve patient access. This work looked into the landscape of the European and US biosimilar products, their regulatory authorization, market availability, and clinical evaluation undergone prior to the regulatory approval. European Medicines Agency (EMEA, currently EMA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) repositories were searched to identify all biosimilar medicines approved before December 2019. Adalimumab biosimilars, and particularly their clinical evaluations, were used as a case study. In the past 13 years, the EMA has received 65 marketing authorization applications for biosimilar medicines with 55 approved biosimilars available in the EU market. Since the first biosimilar approval in 2015, the FDA has granted 26 approvals for biosimilars with only 11 being currently on the US market. Five adalimumab biosimilars have been approved in the EU and commercialized as eight different medicines through duplicate marketing authorizations. Whilst three of these are FDA-approved, the first adalimumab biosimilar will not be marketed in the US until 2023 due to Humira’s exclusivity period. The EU biosimilar market has developed faster than its US counterpart, as the latter is probably challenged by a series of patents and exclusivity periods protecting the bio-originator medicines, an issue addressed by the US’s latest ‘Biosimilar Action Plan’.

scholarly journals European smart specialization for Ukrainian regional development: path from creation to implementation

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 376-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yevheniia Polishchuk ◽  
Alla Ivashchenko ◽  
Igor Britchenko ◽  
Pavel Machashchik ◽  
Serhiy Shkarlet
Keyword(s):  
Direct Action ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
National Level ◽  
Regional Distribution ◽  
Structural Funds ◽  
Organizational Mechanism ◽  
Weak Points ◽  
Characteristic Features ◽  
Smart Specialization ◽  
The Eu

The focus of the research is to develop recommendations of smart specialization (SS) for Ukrainian policymakers using European approaches. The authors revealed that the main SS projects are presented in such sectors as agri-food, industrial modernization and energy. More than 12 EU countries were the plot for conducted analysis of SS, as a result of which the level of activity of each country was determined. The creation of consortiums, including SMEs, associations, universities and other participants, disclosed the successful way of SS realization. The structure of SME’s innovative potential in Ukraine was identified underlining their main characteristic features like types of innovations and innovative activity, differentiation according to enterprise size, their regional distribution. The authors explored lack of innovations on regional and national level and significant territorial disparities, which could be eliminated through policy implementation of regional SS. The existing legislative norms for possibility of SS implementation in Ukraine were analyzed due to correspondence with the EU ones. The analysis provides the opportunity to consider them only as general framework documents without any action plans and sectoral prioritization at all. The weak points of these law documents are emphasized. As a result of research, the authors developed recommendations presented by direct action plan for Ukrainian policymakers, which include such activities as underlining key priorities (especially ICT applicability in every SS project) and their correspondence with the EU ones; eliminating regional imbalances by focusing on innovation development and reorientation of some regions according to SS priorities; respecting regional existing capacities; providing organizational mechanism for cooperation of stakeholders and financial mechanism for SS support through the EU structural funds.

scholarly journals Navigating Through the Maze: Practical Constraints in the Implementation of Forest Regulations (FLEGT) in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Gordon Kofi Sarfo-Adu
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Implementation Challenges ◽  
Technical Errors ◽  
Public Policy Implementation ◽  
Transnational Actors ◽  
The Eu

The European Union Forest Law Enforcement on Governance and Trade (EU-FLEGT) Action Plan seeks to promote widespread sustainable forest management and relies largely on transnational actors and international law in its operationalization. The EU FLEGT sets out EU custom regulation through Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) which is a bilateral agreement between the EU and wood exporting countries with instruments aimed at promoting sustainable practices within the forest resources value chain. Ghana became a signatory to the FLEGT VPA since 2007, as part of the process, it is required to use technology to track timber logging from source to point of export. Issues of networks and inter-agency collaboration and dealing with human elements remain crucial in ensuring effective operationalization. Adopting a qualitative case study design as well as theories and concepts from the public policy implementation literature, this study examines the implementation vagaries of the FLEGT VPA in Ghana. Although the VPA is a laudable idea of using Information Technology (IT) in effectively tracking timber to its original source to ascertain legality or otherwise of the timber, the needed IT infrastructure and resources have not matched up with the goal. Additionally, the VPA implementation is expensive and has come with additional cost to the implementers, The study further observes that the increasing ‘red flags’ that are raised on the Ghana Wood Tracking System is a blend of technical errors emanating from negligence or capacity challenges and human manipulation. This calls for regular consultations and workshops with relevant stakeholders in order to assess which skills are deficient and a need to beef up through on-the-job training. The domestic market and trading activities tend to fuel demand for illegal timber hence a constraint to the full realization of the VPA objective. The study makes policy suggestions on how to address these implementation challenges.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document