15 Amendments of Antoni COMÍN I OLIVERES related to 2021/0191(COD)
Amendment 43 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The transition to a low-carbon, more sustainable, resource-efficient, innovation-driven, circular and fair economy, with the objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, is key to ensuring the long-term competitiveness of the economy of the Union and the well- being of its peoples. In 2016, the Union concluded the Paris Agreement31 . Article 2(1), point (c), of the Paris Agreement sets out the objective of strengthening the response to climate change by, among other means, making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate- resilient development. __________________ 31Council Decision (EU) 2016/1841 of 5 October 2016 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (OJ L 282, 19.10.2016, p. 4).
Amendment 46 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
(2a) The Union definition of sustainability not only includes environmental principles, such as the objective towards climate neutrality, but also the principles enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights, namely sustainable and inclusive growth, the recognition of the relevance of international standards on minimum human and labour rights, and environmental, social and governance aspects. Therefore, bonds that are labelled as ‘sustainable’ or ‘green’ should adhere to the ‘do-no-significant-harm’ principle referred to in Regulation (EU) 2019/2088.
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) Environmentally sustainable bonds are one of the main instruments for financing investments related to low- carbon technologies, energy and resource efficiency as well as sustainable transport infrastructure and research infrastructure. Financial or non-financial undertakings or sovereigns can issue such bonds. Various existing initiatives for environmentally and socially sustainable bonds do not ensure common definitions of environmentally sustainable economic activities. This prevents investors from easily identifying bonds the proceeds of which are aligned with, or are contributing to environmental objectives as laid down in the Paris Agreement.
Amendment 50 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3 a (new)
Recital 3 a (new)
(3a) After a transition period set by the Commission and stakeholders, in close cooperation with the European Parliament and the Council, all debt instruments, and not only bonds, should direct their capital flows towards the overarching goals of sustainability and climate neutrality, for which additional regulatory requirements will eventually be necessary.
Amendment 54 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) In ensuring alignment with the objectives of the Paris agreement and of the Sustainable Development Goals , and given the existing divergences and absence of common rules, it is likely that Member States will adopt diverging measures and approaches, which will have a direct negative impact on, and create obstacles to, the proper functioning of the internal market, and be detrimental to issuers of environmentally sustainable bonds. The parallel development of market practices based on commercially driven priorities that produce divergent results causes market fragmentation and risks further exacerbating inefficiencies in the functioning of the internal market. Divergent standards and market practices make it difficult to compare different bonds, create uneven market conditions for issuers, cause additional barriers within the internal market, and risk greenwashing and distorting investment decisions.
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) A uniform and harmonised set of specific requirements should therefore be laid down for bonds issued by financial or non- financial undertakings or sovereigns that voluntarily wish to use the designation ‘European green bond’ or ‘EuGB’ for such bonds. Specifying quality requirements for European green bonds in the form of a Regulation should ensure that there are uniform conditions for the issuance of such bonds by preventing diverging national requirements that could result from a transposition of a Directive, and should also ensure that those conditions are directly applicable to issuers of such bonds. Issuers that voluntarily use the designation ‘European green bond’ or ‘EuGB’ should follow the same rules across the Union, to increase market efficiency by reducing discrepancies and thereby also reducing the costs of assessing those bonds for investors, who should over time come to regard sustainable finance as mainstream.
Amendment 62 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7 a (new)
Recital 7 a (new)
(7a) After a transition period set by the Commission, in contact with stakeholders and in collaboration with the European Parliament and the Council, the ‘European green bond’ or ‘EuGB’ standard should become the main green bond standard within the Union’s capital market. Transparency, accountability, sustainability and the prevention of greenwashing should be the guiding principles of that standard, which should also align with the existing sustainable finance legal framework.
Amendment 67 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) TNotwithstanding the green bond markets already functioning prior to the entry into force of this Regulation, for which best practices should be kept, fostered, and eventually standardised within the ‘EuGB’ standard provided for in this Regulation, the proceeds of European green bonds should be used to finance economic activities that have a lasting positive impact on the environment. Such lasting positive impact can be attained in several ways. Since fixed assets are long-term assets, a first way is to use the proceeds of such European green bonds to finance fixed tangible or fixed intangible assets that are not financial assets, provided that those fixed assets relate to economic activities that meet the requirements for environmentally sustainable economic activities set out in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (‘taxonomy requirements’). Since financial assets can be used to finance economic activities with a lasting positive impact on the environment, a second way is to use those proceeds to finance financial assets, provided that the proceeds from those financial assets are allocated to economic activities that meet the taxonomy requirements. Since the assets of households can also have a long- term positive impact on the environment, those financial assets should also include the assets of households. Since capital expenditure and selected operating expenditure can be used to acquire, upgrade, or maintain fixed assets, a third way is to use the proceeds of such bonds to finance capital and operating expenditures that relate to economic activities that meet the taxonomy requirements or that will meet those requirements within a reasonably short period from the issuance of the bond concerned, which can be extended however where duly justified by the specific features of the economic activities and investments concerned. For the reasons outlined above, the capital and operating expenditures should also include the expenditures of households.
Amendment 73 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) Sovereigns are frequent issuers of environmentally sustainable bonds and should therefore also be allowed to issue ‘European green bonds’, provided that the proceeds of such bonds are used to finance either assets or expenditure that meet the taxonomy, or assets or expenditure that will meet those requirements within a reasonably short period from the issuance of the bond concerned, which can be extended however where duly justified by the specific features of the economic activities and investments concerned. European green bonds issued by the Union could propel green public investment, with the aim of invigorating the economy of the Union, levelling the playing field of its regions, and ensuring the Union’s open strategic autonomy.
Amendment 88 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Issuers of European green bonds should abide by their commitments to investors and allocate the proceeds of their bonds within a reasonably short time after issuance. At the same time, issuers should not be penalised for allocating bond proceeds to economic activities that do not yet meet the taxonomy requirements, but will do so within the five year period (or extended ten year period). Issuers should in any case allocate all proceeds of their European green bonds before the maturity of each bond. Once this Regulation enters into force, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) should develop draft regulatory technical standards to specify how taxonomy- alignment plans will be prepared. The Commission should eventually adopt those regulatory technical standards as a delegated act.
Amendment 96 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18 a (new)
Recital 18 a (new)
(18a) Notwithstanding the current legal framework, and two years after the entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission should also explore the need to regulate blockchain-based decentralised autonomous organisations specialised in decentralised finance that tokenise and exchange bonds, with the aim for those bonds to fall within the EuGB standard and in order to maintain a level playing field among platforms and stakeholders.
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) To enable ESMA to perform its supervisory tasks, and in particular to compel external reviewers to put an end to an infringement, to supply complete and correct information or to comply with an investigation or an on-site inspection, ESMA should be able to impose penalties or periodic penalty payments. Six months after the entry into force of this Regulation, and after gaining a first understanding of the EuGB standard market, ESMA should develop draft regulatory technical standards to counter possible conflicts of interest that might have occurred during those six months. The Commission should eventually adopt those regulatory technical standards as a delegated act.
Amendment 103 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 36
Recital 36
(36) In order to encourage external reviewers to provide their services to the issuers of European green bonds as of the entry into application of this Regulation, this Regulation sets out a transitional regime for the first 30 months following the entry into force of this Regulation. Sustainable bonds already issued before the entry into force of this Regulation should be invited by ESMA to comply with this Regulation as regards disclosure requirements and the use of external reviewers.
Amendment 112 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 a (new)
(5a) ‘sustainable investment’ means a sustainable investment as defined in Article 2, point (17), of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088;
Amendment 113 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 b (new)
(5b) ‘sustainability risk’ means a sustainability risk as defined in Article 2, point (22), of Regulation (EU) 2019/2088