44 Amendments of Pervenche BERÈS related to 2018/2007(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
- having regard to the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations, in particular the commitment to take action to combat climate change and its impact and to ensure sustainable consumption and production,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4
Citation 4
— having regard to page 14 of the HLEG finterimal report, which states that Europe’s investors have a combined exposure to carbon-intensive sectors of roughly 45 % and that less than 1 % of global institutional investors are green infrastructure assets of January 2018 entitled ‘Financing a Sustainable European Economy’, which outlines the tension between short-term profit seeking behaviour and the need for long-term investment in order to meet the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) targets, and in particular to their recommendation of assessing the risks on the financial system and policy framework of short-termism and “the tragedy of the horizon” on page 45,
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
- having regard to the report of 2018 by the High-Level Task Force on Investing in Social Infrastructure in Europe entitled 'Boosting Investment in Social Infrastructure in Europe',
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
- having regard to the French Corporate Duty Of Vigilance Law of 27 March 2017, especially Article 1 and Article 2 thereof,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
- having regards to Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 laying down a general framework for securitisation and creating a specific framework for simple, transparent and standardized securitisation, and amending Directives 2009/65/EC, 2009/138/EC and 2011/61/EU and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 648/2012;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 28 a (new)
Citation 28 a (new)
28 a - having regard to the UNISDR and CRED report "The Human Cost of Weather related Disasters" stating that 90% of recorded major disasters from 1995 to 2015 caused by natural hazards were linked to climate and weather and that globally, disasters cause between 250 and 300 billion USD in economic damages every year;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 28 b (new)
Citation 28 b (new)
- having regard to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk reduction and "Priority 3: Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience" including Article 30 stating the need "to promote, as appropriate, the integration of disaster risk reduction considerations and measures in financial and fiscal instruments",
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses the potential of a faster greensustainable transition as an opportunity for orienting capital markets and banks towards long- term, innovative and efficient investments; notes the current trend of divestment from coal, but stresses the urgent need for divestment from other fossil fuel industries; underlines the importance of European banks and capital markets gaining the advantages of innovation in this area; notes that environmental, social and governance (ESG) benefits and risks are not reflected in prices and that this provides a market advantage to unsustainable and short- termist geared finance; stresses that a political, supervisory and regulatory framework to govern sustainable finance is overdue; notes that such a framework would help to mobilise capital at scale for sustainable development and enhance market efficiency to channel capital flows towards assets that contribute to sustainable development;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses 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; emphasises in that respect the instrumental role of economic, fiscal and monetary policy in fostering sustainable finance by facilitating capital allocation to decarbonised 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, and that the current price set in the European Trading System is far too low to fulfil this role and should be raised accordingly; underlines that the introduction of a carbon tax in the European Union would be necessary to accompany this shift in investment;
Amendment 96 #
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 and progressive dismissal of these assets as essential to the orderly transition to climate-positive investments; calls for the introduction of European ‘carbon stress tests’ as proposed by the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) in 2016 for banks and other financial intermediaries to determine the risks related to such stranded assets; welcomes the ESRB proposals for climate resilient prudential policies, such as specific capital surcharges based on the carbon intensity of individual exposures or large exposure limits applied to the overall investment in assets deemed highly vulnerable to an abrupt transition to the low-carbon economy.
Amendment 100 #
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; calls for the introduction of mandatory ‘carbon stress tests’ for banks and other financial intermediaries to determine the risks related to such stranded assets; asks that these tests be designed by the ESAs which would be given the appropriate competences and resources for this purpose;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. CInsists that reforming the financial system so that it actively accelerates the ecological transition will require actions and commitments from economic actors from both the public and the private sector; calls on the Member States, in coordination with the Commission and the EIB, to evaluate their national and collective public investment needs and to commit to fill the potential gaps to ensure that the EU is on track to meet its climate change goals within the next five years; insists that this will also necessitate specific financial tools, to that end, thus calls on the Member States to develop green sovereign bonds;
Amendment 114 #
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 and sustainability goals within the next five years;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to lead a multi-stakeholder process to establish by the end of 2019 a robust and credible greensustainability taxonomy, including a ‘Green Finance Mark’, through a legislative initiative ready as from 2019 the latest, and going in parallel with at least the following additional legislative proposals: an overarching, mandatory due diligence framework including a duty of care, a public European Credit Rating Agency, an ESG taxonomy and a proposal to integrate ESG risks and factors into the prudential framework of financial institutions;
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 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Underlines that the taxonomy should strike the right balance between commitment and flexibility, which means that framework should be mandatory and standardised, but should also be regarded as an evolving tool which can take on board emerging risks and/or risks that have yet to be mapped in a proper way.
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the recent inclusion of sustainability issues in the PRIIPs and STS Regulations, as well as in Shareholders Rights Directive and the NFRD; applauds the inclusion in the IORPs Directive of recognition of stranded assets; asks for the transversal integration of sustainable finance criteria in all legislation related to the financial sector; calls for common guidelines in order to harmonise the definition of ESG factors and their introduction in the existing and future legislation; calls in this regard the Commission to use the power defined in Regulation(EU) No 1286/2014 to deliver, as a matter of urgency and in any case before developing the sustainability taxonomy, a delegated act to specify the details of the procedures used to establish whether a packaged retail and insurance based investment product targets specific environmental or social objectives;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the recent inclusion of sustainability issues in the PRIIPs and STS Regulations, as well as in Shareholders Rights Directive and the NFRD; applauds the inclusion in the IORPs Directive of recognition of stranded assets; asks for the transversal integration of sustainable finance criteria in all legislation related to the financial sector. Calls in particular for a direct reference to ESG criteria in the "product oversight governance" (POG) of PRIIPs, IBIPs, investment products in the field of MIFID II and insurance products in IDD Directive, in order to consider those criteria in the entire process of creation, placement and monitoring of investment and insurance products;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the recent inclusion of sustainability issues in the PRIIPs and STS Regulations, as well as in Shareholders Rights Directive and the NFRD; applauds the inclusion in the IORPs Directive of recognition of stranded assets as well as the extension of the prudent person principle and a reference to the UN principles for responsible investment; asks for the transversal integration of sustainable finance criteria in all legislation related to the financial sector via an omnibus proposal;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Welcomes the European Commission Statement at the "One Planet Summit" in Paris (December 2017) on the possible introduction of a "Green Supporting Factor" in prudential rules in order to boost lending and investments in low carbon assets;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Asks the Commission to adopt a regulatory strategy aimed inter alia at measuring sustainability risks within the framework of capital adequacy rules; stresses that capital adequacy rules must be based on and fully reflect ademonstratquately assessed risks; aims to initiate an EU pilot project within the next annual budget to begin developing methodological benchmarks for that purpose; urges the Commission to assess the climate, societal and stability benefits of additional measures beyond the integration of ESG risks and factors into the prudential framework of financial institutions, including a brown add-on factor, exposure limits and specific capital surcharges;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Highlights that all widely used financial benchmarks do not consider ESG factors in their methodology; calls for ESMA to develop one or more European sustainability benchmarks, using the European sustainability taxonomy, to measure the performance of European issuers on the basis of ESG risks and factors;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Stresses that insurance companies should be subject to binding legislation and regulation that requires them to disclose the ESG impact of all their investments, to exercise due diligence and to be held accountable for negative ESG impacts; asks for the inclusion of sustainability factors into each of the three pillars of Solvency II;
Amendment 182 #
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 to include mandatory disclosure within these two frameworks as from 2020 which would include a transposition period in which companies could prepare for implementation; reiterates that Article 173 of the French Energy Transition Bill already offers a welcome possible template for binding regulation on mandatory climate risk disclosure by investors;
Amendment 183 #
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, including on disaster and climate risk, in the framework of the revision of the Accounting Directive and the NFRD. In particular stresses that an enlargement of the field of application of the Non Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD - 2014/95) should be considered, with a view to extending the disclosure duty to companies with more than 250 employees;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Upholds that mandatory disclosure and standardisation is also a key from the perspective of green investors; underlines in this context that the regulation on simple, transparent and standardised securitisation requires issuers to disclose ESG characteristics of mortgages and auto loans, which may help to build green investment portfolio’s and accelerate the greening of our economy;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Recommends that the type of disclosure currently required under the PRIIPs regulation and through the Key Information Document should become mandatory for all retail financial products and independent of whether they have a demonstrated environmental or social objective;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Insists that fiduciary duty should be extended to encompass a mandatory ‘two- way’ integration process whereby asset managers are obliged to consider ESG factors and the sustainability impact of their portfolios and clients are asked about their timeframe and sustainability preferences;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) to develop guidelines for model contracts between asset owners and asset managers, independent investment consultants and other investment intermediaries which would clearly incorporate the transmission of the beneficiary interest as well as clear expectations as regards the identification and integration of ESG risks on behalf of the asset manager independent investment consultant or other investment intermediary;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Urges the European Commission to introduce an overarching, mandatory framework on due diligence, which in line with the 2017 OECD Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct for Institutional Investors requires investors to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for ESG factors and risks; underlines that the continuous and ongoing conduct of due diligence (which means both pre- investment and throughout the investment) is needed and can be seen as a duty of care of investors; recalls that the French Duty of Vigilance law may serve a possible template for a pan-European duty of Vigilance Law for companies and investors;
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11 b. Stresses the need for clear requirements on how investors are expected to perform due diligence of investee companies; Calls on the Commission to ensure that these due diligence requirements are supported by public and mandatory disclosure through, at a minimum, the annual reports of investors, as well where applicable the introduction of effective and robust accountability mechanisms by the ESAs;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Asks that stewardship and consideration of ESG factors 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;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Recommends that investors ensure that they have a broad understanding of their clients’ non-financial preferences; stresses that asset managers should ensure that information about non- financial risks should be communicated clearly to all beneficiaries of financial products;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes the lack of a robust, reliable and uniform definition for reporting in the framework of the NFRD and the need to define the most strategic ESG metrics for each sector or sub-sector; calls on the Commission to create EU-wide multi- stakeholder groups to establish a list of metrics covering the most significant sustainability risks as part of a pilot project on this matter;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Notes the urgent need for a uniform standard for green bonds; insists that such green bonds 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; underlines the importance of the public sector as risk taker, innovator and market creator; calls on a legislative initiative to incentivise, promote and market a European public issuance of green bonds by existing and future European institutions such as the EIB and the European Monetary Fund;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Notes the urgent need for a uniform standard for green bonds; insists that such green bonds 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, natural gas, non-sustainable agriculture or investment in aviation infrastructure;
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Upholds that pricing measures can deliver a critical contribution in closing the 180 billion Euro funding gap to deliver Europe’s decarbonisation efforts, by shifting investments towards long-term sustainable goals; highlights that such pricing measures may include a financial transaction tax on high-frequency trading and higher prices and fees for unsustainable investments;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Stresses the importance of the Social component of Sustainable finance; notes the potential of the development of new financial instruments especially dedicated to social infrastructures, such as social bonds, as endorsed by the Social Bond Principles (SBP) 2017;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Highlights that, beyond green bonds, social bonds need to be developed and encouraged as a tool to fill the gap in investment in social infrastructure within the European Union; asks that they meet criteria akin to those of the green bonds;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Notes that existing credit-rating agencies (CRAs) do not integrate the influence of disruptive ESG trendrisks an factors 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; recalls that the financial crisis of 2008 was not anticipated by the big three CRAs and warns that the underlying reasons of oligopoly and a narrow economic focus of these firms are still not fully addressed, which makes current CRAs unfit to flag emerging long-term sustainability risks; recalls therefore the need to create a European public credit rating agency which is inter alia designed to track long- term sustainability risks; 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); calls for ESMA to receive a clear mandate to require, monitor and give guidelines to CRAs to incorporate sustainability risks in their methodologies;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Emphasises the importance of sustainability research provided by sustainability indexes and ESG rating agencies in providing all financial actors with the necessary information for their reporting and fiduciary duty, implementing the shift towards a more sustainable finance;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Intends to further clarify the mandate of the ESAs so that it includes ESG risks; calls on ESMA to update its ‘suitability’ guidelines to include ESG issues and on the three ESAs to introduce a monitoring system to assess material ESG risks beginning in 2018 and with a forward-looking climate scenario analysis; favours the extension of the ESAs’ mandate to include checking portfolio alignment with the Paris Agreement and to ensure consistency with the TCFD recommendations; the ESAs should have the necessary financial resources to carry out these missions;
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. NStresses the example setting role EU institutions should play when it comes to making finance sustainable; 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;
Amendment 306 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the ECB to redesign its purchase programmes in order to rebalance and align its portfolio with an investment policy that is consistent with the Paris Agreement and ESG goals; underlines that such redesign may act as a pilot for establishing a future sustainability taxonomy; asks that the ECB endeavours to take into account ESG factors in conducting its monetary policy and defining interest rates;