31 Amendments of Molly SCOTT CATO related to 2018/2007(INI)
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 34 a (new)
Citation 34 a (new)
- having regard to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the responsibility to Protect, Respect and Remedy,
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 34 b (new)
Citation 34 b (new)
- having regard to the UN Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals,
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 34 c (new)
Citation 34 c (new)
- having regard to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and ‘Priority 3: Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience’ including Article 30 (m) to ‘to promote, as appropriate, the integration of disaster risk reduction considerations and measures in financial and fiscal instruments,
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 34 d (new)
Citation 34 d (new)
- having regard to the UNISDR and CRED report entitled The Human Cost of Weather Related Disasters,
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. StressesNotes that, while supporting sustainable finance is urgently necessary, we should not overlook the fact that the financial sector as a whole and its core function of allocating capital to benefit society should be governed by the values of equity and sustainability; notes that green-washing of financial products can constitute a risk to market stability; emphasises in that respect the instrumental role of economic, fiscal and monetary policy in fostering sustainable finance by facilitating capital allocation to decarbonisedzed, disaster resilient and resource- efficient economic activities which are able to reduce the current need for future resources and thereby capable of meeting EU sustainability goals; insists that a substantial price for greenhouse gas emissions is a key component of a functioning and efficient environmental and social market economy;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Deplores that the EU is not on track to meet its already modest target for spending on climate-related projects; further regrets that the methodology used in order to track climate-related spending is both contradictory and inconsistent across programmes, allowing for projects with doubtful environmental and climate benefits to qualify as climate-related expenditure;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2 c. Underlines that the methodology used in order to track climate-related spending leads to inconsistency across programmes, allowing for projects with doubtful environmental and climate benefits to be qualified as climate-related expenditure (e.g. the greening component of CAP);
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Emphasises the massive systemic risks that stranded carbon assets represent to financial stability; stresses the need for the identification and mandatory reporting of these assets as essential to the orderly transition to climate-positive investments; recommends the extension of the consideration of stranded assets to include ecological systems fundamental to human life such as the nitrogen cycle and pollination; calls for the introduction of ‘carbon stress tests’ for banks and other financial intermediaries to determine the risks related to such stranded assets; calls on EBA to develop standards on how to assess carbon-related risks, disclose them and include them in the bank-internal risk assessment process; notes that the concept of ‘stranded assets’ is invaluable in connecting climate risks to financial incentives; recommends, in view of the multi-faceted nature of the ecological crisis, that this concept is extended to encompass other existential risks, such as, to our food and water supply.
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Member States, in coordination with the Commission and the EIB, to evaluate their national and collective public investment needs to ensure that the EU is on track to meet its climate change goals within the next five years; as well as attaining the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030; welcomes the clarification provided by EUROSTAT on the treatment of energy performance contracts in national accounts as such clarified treatment may unlock considerable public capital flows towards a sector that currently accounts for three-quarters of the EU’s 2030 clean energy investment gap; asks the Commission to explore further a qualified treatment for public investments related to ESG goals so as to spread the cost of these projects over the lifecycle of related public investment;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 – point 1
Paragraph 6 – point 1
1. a minimum standard aligned with the Paris Agreement and the do-no-harm principle in accordance with ESG risk analysis; of ESG risks and factors which builds on the UNEP Inquiry Definition of sustainability factors, is aligned with the Paris Agreement, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Agenda 2030 and in line with international human rights, and international humanitarian, labour and environmental laws and the do-no-harm principle in accordance with ESG risk analysis, including at a minimum: (a) Environmental factors –climate change risks, bio-diversity ,waste, pollution, water security and deforestation, and remaining within planetary boundaries (b) Social factors – human rights (including Free, Prior and Informed Consent of local communities), customary rights, workers` rights, women’s and children´s rights, health and safety, and conflict situations (c) Governance factors –corporate governance, tax strategies, remuneration and measures to tackle corruption, tax avoidance and evasion and money laundering
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Asks the Commission to explore whether credit guidance could be provided to the banking sector with a view of ensuring that a gradually increasing share of the balance sheet size would be earmarked to ESG related sectors;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Stresses that, since finance is a means to an end, financial flows should become aligned with policy objectives, notably on sustainability; recommends that the Commission implements this commitment through a sustainability test of all financial legislative proposals to ensure that they integrate clear objectives to realign financial flows with EU sustainability policy objectives; underlines however that fostering sustainable finance may not undermine prudential regulation;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8 c. Calls on the European Commission to introduce an over-arching, mandatory due diligence framework based on the 2017 OECD Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct for Institutional Investors, requiring investors to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for ESG factors and risks, with public disclosure through obligation of annual reporting;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Emphasises that disclosure is a critical enabling condition for sustainable finance; applauds the work of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) and calls on the Commission and the Council to explicitly endorse its recommendations; urges the Commission to include mandatory disclosure in the framework of the revision of the Accounting Directive and the NFRD and the CRD-CRR;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Highlights that sustainable finance requires a clarification of European companies’ directors’ duties concerning long-term sustainable value creation, ESG matters, and systemic risks, as part of the directors’ overarching duty to promote the success of the company; calls on the Commission to integrate these aspects of directors’ duties in the European corporate governance framework, stresses that aligning the legal duties of investors with those of company directors through a revision of SRD II and NFRD would also contribute to creating the correct ecosystem to achieve the goals of sustainable finance, in particular in addition to the appropriate standards of corporate reporting and due diligence, as well as the information necessary for investors in their own decision-making;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Asks that stewardship form an integral part of the legal duties of investors to be reflected through disclosure of major holdings, engagement activities, the use of proxy advisers and the use of passive investment vehicles; recommends that passive funds, led by index-based investment, should be encouraged to disclose their stewardship activities and the extent to which the use of passive indexing and benchmarking allows for the proper identification of ESG risks in investee companies; considers that index providers should be asked to provide details of the exposure of widely used and referenced benchmarks to climate and sustainability parameters;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Notes that green bonds represent only a tiny fraction of the investment market and one that is poorly regulated and where information is weak and subject to green-washing; notes in this regard the urgent need for a uniform standard for green bonds; insists that such green bonds should be verified and supervised by public authorities; and should include periodic reporting on the environmental impacts of the underlying assets; underlines that green bonds should also respect negative criteria and must not include any form of fossil fuel asset, nuclear power or investment in aviation infrastructure nor breach core social and human rights; suggests that the development of the standard for an EU green bond should take place in full transparency with a specific Commission working group subject to scrutiny by the European Parliament;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Notes that SMEs are often forgotten in discussions concerning sustainable finance, despite their innovative nature; notes in this context the vast potential of digitalisation and green Fintech; recommends that the Commission considers mechanisms to enable SMEs to bundle projects in order to allow them access to the green bond market;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Notes that existing credit-rating agencies do not integrate the influence of disruptive ESG trends in issuers’ future credit-worthiness; calls for clear EU standards and supervision regarding the integration of ESG factors in ratings for all credit-rating agencies operating in the EU to be further specified by ESMA; calls for the establishment of an accreditation process for a ‘Green Finance Mark’ by certifying agents supervised by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA); requests, in this regard, the Commission to put forward a revision of the CRA Regulation;
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Emphasises that the identification, management and disclosure of environmental, social and governance risks are integral parts of consumer protection and financial stability and should thus fall under the mandate of the supervisory duties of the ESAs; asks the ESRB to actively pursue research on the interplay of ESG factors and systemic risk, beyond climate change;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Acknowledges that there is a widespread deficit in sustainable-finance- related project development capacity in the EU; recommends therefore the establishment of an EU Observatory on Sustainable Finance to provide the institutional capacity to oversee the development of green and sustainable taxonomies and labels;
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17 b. Demands that all future EU spending must be Paris-compatible with objectives relating to the decarbonisation of the economy being included in the legal instruments regulating the operation of European Structural and Investment Funds (including cohesion funds), the funds for external action and development cooperation and other instruments outside the Multiannual Financial Framework such as the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI);
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17 c. Calls on the Commission to conduct a feasibility study into how supervisors and regulation might better reward mandates that include long term perspectives;
Amendment 280 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 d (new)
Paragraph 17 d (new)
17 d. Calls on EIOPA to provide best practice and guidelines on how providers of occupational pension schemes and private pension products engage with beneficiaries pre-contractually and throughout the life of the investment; calls on EIOPA to provide guidelines on best practice, such as the UK Environmental Agency Fund, for engaging with beneficiaries and retail clients and ascertaining their financial and non-financial interests;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes that the EIB has a mixed record on climate action; insists that the EIB should only agree to future lending that is compatible with a 1.5 °C climate limit; advises that the EIB is in a position to provide more risk capital for the green transition; is of the opinion that further measures should be undertaken with that perspective, including inter alia, in interaction with EU financial instruments in the next Multiannual Financial Framework;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Recommends that the EIB work with small market participants and community cooperatives to undertake bundling of small-scale renewable energy projects to enable them to be eligible for EIB funding and as part of the CSPP programme;
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18 b. Demands that the EIB ensures that at least a third of its board members have active experience in the field of sustainable finance;
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)
Paragraph 18 c (new)
18 c. Supports the recommendation made by the HLEG group to establish a ‘Sustainable Infrastructure Europe’ facility to expand the size and quality of the EU pipeline of sustainable assets; notes that the Commission should pay attention to possible gender biases inherent in infrastructure projects and should ensure not to neglect investments in social infrastructure;
Amendment 298 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 d (new)
Paragraph 18 d (new)
18 d. Concurs with the HLEG group that it is of paramount importance to empower and connect Europe’s citizens with sustainable finance issues; underlines the need of improving access to information on sustainability performance and promoting financial literacy;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 e (new)
Paragraph 18 e (new)