This week is the EU Green Week (13-17 May 2019) which puts the spotlight on how environmental laws are applied on the ground. In that context, the EACB will highlight some of its members initiatives during the all week.
AEB, CECA, INVERCO, UNACC and UNESPA create the Financial Center for Sustainability in Spain
Within the framework of the UN's Financial Center for Sustainability project (FC4S)
AEB, CECA, INVERCO, UNACC and UNESPA have agreed on the creation of the Center for Responsible and Sustainable Finance in Spain (Finresp), in order to promote and accelerate the fulfillment of financial commitments linked to the Sustainable Development Goals promoted by the United Nations through value propositions for the Spanish economy and its citizens.
This initiative is part of the United Nations project to create Financial Centers for Sustainability (FC4S) that act as an international network of support and promotion of green and sustainable finance. These centers provide an adequate framework for financial institutions and other interested groups to discuss and promote innovative products and services with the common hallmark of sustainability. Under the umbrella of this United Nations project, nine Financial Centers for Sustainability have already been created in the European Union.
In Spain, the Center for Responsible and Sustainable Finance (Finresp) was created with the aim of addressing, in particular, the difficulties and needs of the business sector and, in particular, small and medium-sized companies in our country to adapt to the requirements of the next Climate Change Law and the regulatory proposals on sustainable finance presented recently by the European Commission. With this objective, Finresp wants to promote innovative financing and investment solutions to facilitate this process of adaptation of Spanish SMEs, incorporating them into the thriving movement of sustainable finance that the large world corporations have undertaken following the mandate of the Paris Agreement.
As will be recalled, the Paris Agreement, signed in 2015 by more than a hundred countries, set out three concrete actions on climate change: maintaining the increase in global average temperature below 2°C with respect to pre-industrial levels; increase the capacity to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change and raise financial flows to a level compatible with climate-resilient economic development. This last objective gives an idea of the importance that the promoters of the Paris Agreement have given to the financing of this process. Only in Europe, the European Commission estimates that meeting these objectives will require an additional annual investment of 177,000 million euros between 2021 and 2030.
The founders of Finresp in Spain are also aware of the transcendental role played by the financial sector in the transformation of the economy towards more sustainable parameters, a matter that they want to share and promote in Spanish society. To this end, under the direction of the board constituted by its founders, it seeks to become the appropriate forum where all interested parties - companies, financial entities, experts in climate change and other public and private market players - can find financial and innovative investment solutions for companies and publicize best practices. Likewise, the Center in Spain intends to reach collaboration agreements with the most relevant centers in Europe and, in particular, with that of Paris (Finance for Tomorrow).
Source: UNACC's website