THE EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL AND SUSTAINABLE FINANCE

This event is part of the Environmental Resilience lecture series, co-organised by the IIEA and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). On this occasion, Professor Delbeke argues that sustainable finance has a crucial role to play in delivering on the policy objectives of the European Green Deal, as well as the EU’s international commitments to its climate and sustainability objectives.

The European Commission has adopted a package of sustainable finance measures, such as the EU Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act, with the aim of making the Union a global leader in setting standards for sustainable finance. Professor Delbeke reflects on these initiatives and will consider how the U.S. may follow suit. He also highlights that the delivery of climate finance to support developing countries will be a key determinant of success at the upcoming UN Climate Summit in Glasgow. Professor Delbeke concludes that the transition to a climate resilient future will depend on the development of a resource-efficient economy with a financial system that supports sustainable growth.

About the Speaker:

Jos Delbeke is a Professor at the European University Institute’s School of Transnational Governance, where he serves as the EUI's European Investment Bank Chair on Climate Change Policy and International Carbon Markets. He is also Professor at KU Leuven in Belgium. From 2010 until 2018, Professor Delbeke was Director-General of the European Commission's DG Climate Action. In this role, he was heavily involved in setting the EU’s climate and energy targets for 2020 and 2030 and was a key player in developing EU legislation on the Emissions Trading System (ETS). Professor Delbeke was previously European Commission's chief negotiator at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties, where he was responsible for the EU's implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and pivotal in the negotiations of the Paris Agreement. As an economist, he underlined the role of market-based instruments and of cost-benefit analysis in the field of the environment.