The French Parliment adopted the Climate and Resilience Bill
On the 20th of July, the French Parliament adopted a wide-ranging climate bill that will impact enterprises, transports, food industries and other stakeholders. Some of the measures include:
- Phasing out the advertising for fossil fuel energy.
- Banning, from 2025, the single-use food packaging made from polystyrene.
- Banning domestic flights, that are not connecting international flights, in case of journeys that can be made by train in less that two and a half hours.
- Creation of a mandatory “environmental label” for goods and service, that aims to inform consumers about the environmental footprint of their purchases.
- Creation of the crime of ecocide.
The French government announced that this legislation will help to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 (when compared to 1990 levels).
The European Commision adopted decisive steps towards a more sustainable economy
The European Commission (EC) adopted, on the 6th of July, important measures with impact on sustainable finance. Firstly, the EC adopted a Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy, which is a package of measures targeted to improve the flow of money towards financing and supporting a transition to a sustainable economy in the EU. The strategy complements other European Green Deal initiatives and identifies four main areas/strategies. Secondly, it adopted a legislative proposal for a European green bond standard (EUGBS), which is a voluntary standard for the green bond market. The proposed Regulation will set a standard for companies and public authorities on how they can use green bonds to finance investments while meeting sustainability requirements. Thirdly, it adopted a Delegated Act supplementing Article 8 of the Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (Taxonomy Regulation). The Delegated Act determines the content, methodology and the way the disclosed information must be presented by the financial and non-financial enterprises, regarding the share part of environmentally sustainable economic activities in their business, investments, or lending activities. The Act will be subject to scrutiny by the European Parliament and the Council for a period of four months (that can be extended by two more months) and if no objections are raised it will be published and enter into force 20 days after.
Authors: Ana Carina Duarte and Rafaela Oliveira