The Cost of Compromise: What the EU’s Sustainability Rollback Means for the Green Deal
The Sustainability Omnibus PodcastShow Notes
In this episode of the Sustainability Omnibus Podcast, brought to you by Green Central Banking, hosts Moriah Costa and Simon Nixon talk to Sirpa Pietikäinen, a Member of the European Parliament from Finland aligned with the National Coalition Party, part of the European People's Party.
Speaking to some of the political dynamics that are driving the shifts in the European Union, Pietikäinen voices concerns that the Commission’s proposal to simplify the CSRD and CSDDD sits at odds with the EU Green Deal climate targets and risks damaging European competitiveness.
The MEP also warns that raising company size thresholds for reporting and narrowing the scope of value chain disclosures to tier one suppliers could hinder investment and make reporting more rather than less burdensome for companies. Pietikäinen speaks to high levels of support among many businesses and investors across Europe for sustainability disclosure rules that ensure meaningful and comparable reporting in a coherent EU-wide framework.
Key Topics Discussed:
The political dynamics driving the European Union to revise the sustainability and due diligence report rules
How the Commission’s proposals contains contradictory measures that could increase the burden of reporting for many businesses and put the EU’s climate targets in jeopardy
The growing disconnect between business leaders who want harmonised reporting frameworks and populist politicians calling to "cut red tape”
Why a lack of comparable ESG data could derail green public procurement plans under the Commission’s newly introduced Clean Industrial Deal, and hinder innovation, investment and competitiveness in the EU’s economy.
The risks of the Omnibus process fracturing the centrist coalition in the European Union and empowering parties on the populist extremes.
Guest Speaker: Sirpa Pietikäinen, Member of the European Parliament (EPP, Finland), former Minister of Environment of Finland.
Resources & Further Reading:
Green Central Banking on the EU Omnibus Proposal
European Commission: Omnibus Proposal Announcement
Sirpa Pietikäinen's profile at the European Parliament
Sirpa Pietikäinen tells the Financial Times’ Sustainable Views that removing companies in the value chain from the scope of the directives “did not make sense”
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