Latest News

Regulators do not have resources to tackle greenwashing, says EU watchdog

Market guard dogs across the European Union have actually punished few circumstances of 'greenwashing' by monetary companies, partly because regulators do not have enough resources to utilize their powers, the bloc's securities regulator said on Tuesday.

Billions of euros have streamed into investments and business that tout their green credentials, raising issues among regulators about greenwashing, or exaggerated climate-friendly claims.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) stated that local regulators - known as nationwide competent authorities, or NCAs - that monitor everyday compliance with EU guidelines have reported just a minimal number of real or prospective occurrences of greenwashing.

Official enforcement choices are, up to now, limited as well, ESMA said in a declaration, adding that this is partially due to NCAs facing restraints on their resources, access to knowledge, and to good quality data.

ESMA and local regulators have actually started to build up their capability to handle greenwashing, such as by enhanced training of staff.

A lot of NCAs think about, nevertheless, that their resources are not sufficient, ESMA said.

ESMA highlighted differing levels of greenwashing dangers across the sustainable financial investment chain (SIVC).

The guard dog said EU rules provide appropriate powers to take on greenwashing, including a core securities law known as MiFID, which needs communication between firms and clients to be fair, clear and not deceptive, ESMA stated.

The EU has more just recently rolled out obligatory climate-related disclosures for property managers, listed business and green bond issuance, giving regulators extra yardsticks to guard against greenwashing.

Greenwashing can also be dealt with by acting on violations against a series of specific sustainability-related requirements introduced in the EU in recent years, ESMA said.

The European Banking Authority and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority also issued reports on greenwashing on Tuesday in their respective sectors.

(source: Reuters)