Stockholm (NordSIP) – On June 13, the European Commission announced the composition of the Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance, following the Action Plan on Sustainable Finance published earlier this year in March.
The new Technical Expert Group (TEG) will start meeting in July and includes 35 members from the business and finance sector, academia as well as various interest groups (civil society). Two of the four banks nominated to sit on the group are Nordic: SEB, which will be represented by Stockholm-based Marie Baumgarts, Head of Sustainability and Nordea, with Helsinki-based Aila Aho, Head of Sustainable Financing. The two other representatives of the banking sector are the Italian Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and the German KfW Bankengruppe.
The European asset management sector is represented by Allianz Global Investors, BNP Paribas Asset Management and Mirova. Brenda Kramer, who most recently worked for Dutch pension manager PGGM is joining in her own name. AIG Europe and SCOR stand in for the insurance sector.
The rest of the list is available here. The 35 members of the TEG were chosen among 185 eligible applications. In the selection process, the European Commission took into account the personal expertise, the contribution to work relevant to sustainable finance, as well as the prominence in the affiliation in this area, for each candidate.
The TEG will have a determining role in the evolution of sustainable investing and sustainable finance in the European Union, as it is expected to assist the European Union in developing a taxonomy, in other words, a classification system which will determine whether an economic activity is environmentally sustainable.
As part of its to-do list, the TEG will also support the commission in the creation of an EU Green Bond Standard, in improving the disclosure of climate-related information and by helping to develop a category of low carbon indices, which will be used as a benchmark by asset managers.
In a press release, Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President responsible for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union said: “Today’s launch of the Technical Expert Group is another step in our ambitious timetable to lay the foundations for a
more sustainable financial system. Already as of July, this diverse and highly qualified group of experts will get to work, helping us determine which economic activities are truly green, define an EU standard for green bonds, and more. I am committed to a swift follow-up on their expert advice, in line with our Action Plan on Sustainable Finance and following our legislative proposals last month.”
Image available at Pexel
