Publications

Even in the run-up to the 27th COP, it was more than clear that this would be a meeting of great expectations and scepticism. Under the motto “Together for Implementation”, this COP was designed to facilitate further concrete steps. Dr Nicole Schmidt and Thomas Mog report on their impressions of the conference and the results.

The Federal Government’s new Advisory Council for Sustainable Finance – on the way to becoming a leader in sustainable finance.

Assessment of the EU Commission’s draft on the classification of electricity generation from nuclear energy and fossil gas as transitional activities under the EU Taxonomy.

In mid-October, the 5th Sustainable Finance Summit Germany took a glance at current developments in Sustainable Finance. The Summit sent out clear calls for action in the direction of towards the financial sector, the real economy, and politics to continue working on the Sustainable Finance Agenda. For all those who were unable to attend, a comprehensive documentation is now available.

The development of the EU taxonomy in the areas of climate protection and climate adaptation is largely complete. It is still open whether and to what extent fossil gas and nuclear energy should be defined as green in the EU taxonomy. In the discussion on these points, the principles of the EU taxonomy of technology neutrality and scientificity should be preserved. In the view of the Net Zero Banking Alliance Germany, these principles are important in order to obtain a uniform metric for positive contributions to climate transformation.

In the discussion paper “Employees fit for Paris: Upskilling in banks for a climate-neutral Germany by 2045”, the NZBAG proposes a curriculum for a basic training for bank employees on climate transformation.

How do you manage to finance the transformation to a climate-friendly economy in Germany? How can the goal set by the federal government of making Germany the leading location for sustainable finance be achieved?

Experts from the Green and Sustainable Finance Cluster Germany, the Bürgerbewegung Finanzwende, the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and WWF Germany dealt with these questions. In the final report you will find the results of the needs assessment to stabilize a sustainable financial system.

In the discussion paper “Lending to a climate neutral Germany by 2045”, the NZBAG summarizes its position on loan portfolio steering in line with the Paris climate goals. The aim of the paper is to harmonise approaches for measuring the alignment of loan portfolios with Paris-compatible transition pathways in a methodologically agnostic manner.

With „Shifting the Trillions“ the committee presents 31 recommendations to the government with the aim of making Germany a leading country for sustainable finance. The GSFCG closely followed the advisory board’s almost two-year work process and supported it with management expertise  and many sponsors.

How has the sustainable finance environment changed since the founding of the Cluster? In our latest publication, we analyse the regulatory and market developments of the last two years. A national and international contextualisation also allows us to look at the work of the Cluster over the next two years.

Our Action Roadmap will guide the pursuit of our targets and the focus within our action areas. We are delighted to publish the Cluster Action Roadmap in the context of the European Sustainable Finance Summit 2020.

The Sustainable Finance Committee presents its current state of discussion with an Interim Report for discussion.

Due to the established production and consumption patterns of our time, our livelihoods and the very basis of our existence are under great pressure. If we do not succeed in implementing the necessary structural changes to the extent required, ecosystems will undamentally change in ways difficult to imagine today. The financial system can play a vital role in making structural changes a success and in ensuring that all actors systematically adjust their behaviour.

Please use the short briefs to assess climate-related risks – and opportunities in your portfolio appropriately, which will help you to future-proof your business models. On top, you will make a substantial contribution to global climate action.

The GSFCG is happy to support you on that journey.

For a future-proof financial system as a mainstay for competitiveness and employment in Germany – elements of a policy roadmap