Climate Bonds’ mission is to mobilise global capital for a sustainable global economy. The European team contributes to this by advocating for strong EU environmental policies on sustainable finance, climate and energy and external action.
Climate Bonds and EMF-ECBC join forces to certify bonds in line with the EU Taxonomy
The European Covered Bond Council (EMF-ECBC) and the Climate Bonds Initiative (Climate Bonds) can certify bonds that adhere to the European Union Taxonomy for sustainable activities in the EU’s largest economies. The organisations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance transparency, disclosure, and investment in energy-efficient finance, beginning in Germany, France, Ireland, and Hungary.
Under this collaboration, EMF and Climate Bonds are working to develop and promote standards and frameworks that align covered bonds with the EU Taxonomy. The Climate Bonds buildings criteria provide a clear and comprehensive classification system for environmentally sustainable economic activities.
Covered bonds, which are debt securities backed by a pool of assets such as mortgages, play a crucial role in the financial system, and aligning them with sustainability criteria will enable investors to establish genuine commitments to a low-carbon economy.
Manifesto: Practical Policies for a Just and Resilient Built Environment
A coalition of organisations including the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA), the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), the Building and Woodworkers’ International (BWI) and the Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS) is calling for the EU’s new Housing Commissioner to have wide-ranging powers to address the growing housing crisis, Following European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s recent announcement of a Commissioner with direct housing responsibilities, the coalition argues that a unified portfolio with authority over housing, building decarbonisation, labour rights, and the circular economy is essential for the EU to resolve the housing crisis, while ensuring that improved homes and buildings contribute to a self-reliant, prosperous, and secure future for Europeans.
Their new manifesto, Practical Policies for a Just and Resilient Built Environment, was signed by 16 organisations across Europe, including Climate Bonds. The manifesto calls for a range of measures including swift implementation and appropriate tightening of existing EU sustainable building policy measures in line with the EU’s climate targets, consolidating all existing funds for retrofitting, renovation, and affordable housing into a single Facility hosted by the European Investment Bank, including strengthened social criteria based on human rights standards in the sustainable finance framework, as well as introducing mandatory checks to ensure that the construction value chain prevents human rights abuses and criminal activity.