EU SUSTAINABLE FINANCE: DISCLOSURE COMPLEXITY AND ISSUES

Abstract

The sustainability of the financial sector from an environmental and social prospective is one of the biggest concerns we are facing nowadays. As a consequence, in recent times the European Institutions has settled out numerous law reforms in EU sustainable finance requiring to the financial sector several disclosure requirements. The aim of these reforms is to develop and improve transparency, awareness, reduce greenwashing and direct capital towards more sustainable investments, products and businesses. However, these pieces of legislation are often complex and may arise compliance issues. The Thesis begins analysing the background of the currently EU sustainable disclosure requirements characterized by “The Paris Agreement” (2015), the “EU Sustainable finance Action Plan” and the “European Green Deal”. Subsequently, it is followed by an overview of the main laws regarding EU sustainable finance disclosures: Pillar 3 Disclosures on ESG Risks (Regulation EU 2029/876); Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) (Regulation EU 2019/2088), the Taxonomy Regulation (Regulation EU 2020/852) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) (Directive EU 2022/2464). Therefore, the Thesis undertakes to identify interpretation, lack of data and technicality issues related to EU sustainable finance disclosures.