Executive Summary
economic and financial system. Sustainable finance needs to be understood as a central, comprehensive and overarching task for the financial sector, which requires coherent decisions across the board. Key approaches to action include:
Germany is to become a leading centre for sustainable finance. The German federal government is using its ambitious goal to mobilise all financial market players to finance the transformation towards a sustainable economic and financial system and partake in its success. In a way comparable to the structural fissures triggered by digitalisation, the need for climate protection and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide but a short window of time for developing self-directed approaches to transformation. Those who want to avoid disruption must act now – in collaborative, systemic and forward-looking ways. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change provides clear guidance alongside the UN’s SDGs. The transformation is essential in view of the social and ecological challenges, but also in view of global competition. It offers opportunities for future competitiveness, for innovation, growth, prosperity, security as well as employment and safeguards social stability and an intact environment.
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Introduce an effective CO2 price, develop approaches to transformation for all sectors and put in place the right parameters for boosting suitable investments in the real economy.
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Implement the political goals by way of budgetary allocations and portfolios, in connection with economic stimulus packages and guarantees as well as, for example, with the help of the German savings banks when promoting the transformation at the regional level.
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Participate in shaping and implementing the EU Green Deal and the EU Action Plan for Financing Sustainable Growth, particularly the implementation of the taxonomy.
Real economy companies expect planning security and efficient access to the financial market. In addition to the supervisory framework for the real economy, transparency, data comparability and risk management are to be improved as well:
Three players are key to the success of the transformation, and this Interim Report is directed mainly to them: the German federal government including the German public sector, the real economy companies and the financial market players. Even though the initiative must come from the German federal government, the actions of all three players are decisive. To this end, the Sustainable Finance Committee has submitted 53 approaches to action in this Interim Report. The German federal government and the German public sector both provide the framework and serve as models. The government should make purposeful decisions and take concrete action in the near future to provide a compass for the realignment of the
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Standardise financial and sustainability reporting to arrive at “integrated reporting” and expand the concept incrementally to medium-size joint-stock companies, SMEs and companies exposed to particular risks. Perform regular climate stress tests and scenario analyses. Require exchange-listed companies to apply the TCFD recommendations to their reports from 2022.
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Align the obligations of and requirements for corporate management and accounting in ways appropriate to the transformation, and adjust the supervisory framework to the long-term goals of the transformation.
