With the European Green Deal, the EU wants to become climate neutral by 2050. To achieve this, we must decarbonize our energy systems and economies. An important building block is the EU Taxonomy Regulation, which aims to channel money flows into green projects, technologies, and processes. The policy does so by classifying what is environmentally sustainable and what is not, thereby providing transparency for investors. In this project, Ecologic Institute critically accompanies this design process, prepares keynotes and fosters exchange between stakeholders from politics, industry, academia, and civil society.

The EU taxonomy regulation for sustainable finance has received much attention. As a living document, it requires regular reviewing and updating. So what's next in stall for the policy's development? On 16 January 2023, representatives from politics, industry (financial and non-financial), academia and the civil society came together to discuss exactly that. R. Andreas Kraemer moderated the event that featured an initial impulse from Korbinian Reiter (Kanzlei Redeker) and comments from Silke Stremlau (Hannoversche Kassen) and Sabine Pex (BMUV).

To achieve the EU climate targets, a lot of money will have to be invested – according to estimates by the EU Commission, an additional 350 billion euros per year by 2030. In order to avoid greenwashing and ensure that these funds actually flow into sustainable economic activities, the EU taxonomy has been in place since 2020. What are the weaknesses of the taxonomy, and how could it be further developed in the future?