Insurance Europe has published its response to a consultation by the European Commission on its EU Green Bond Standard (GBS). In order to maximize investment in the transition towards sustainability, investors must be able to invest in the green bond market with confidence. As Europe’s largest institutional investors, the insurance industry therefore welcomes an EU GBS, agrees with its proposed components and appreciates that it seeks alignment with the EU taxonomy for sustainable investments.
The EU GBS can help facilitate investors’ trust in the green bond market by ensuring that: Covered projects are aligned with the EU Taxonomy through to their maturity. Investors are provided with enough transparency and access to reliable/usable information. The industry appreciates that the standard is built on market best practices and highlights the need for the framework’s core components to remain standardized at EU level to safeguard transparency, uniformity and comparability. The establishment of an EU GBS also has the potential to become a global standard for green bonds. This would put the EU in a leadership position in the sustainability agenda, while creating a level playing field for European investors.