Sustainable finance plays a key role in promoting the transition to a carbon neutral and sustainable Europe.

By supporting projects that prioritise resource efficiency, healthy ecosystems and promote the circular economy, it helps reduce waste generation, promotes recycling and reuse, and protects ecosystems. Through the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into investment analysis and reporting, it enables investors to make informed decisions and holds companies accountable for their environmental impact. Thus, businesses are incentivised to adopt sustainable practices, improve their environmental performance, and reduce their ecological footprint. By providing financial support to green startups and research and development in the field of sustainability, it drives the creation of new solutions for environmental challenges. The EU Commission is making use of those advantages and has therefore set up an EU Sustainable Finance Agenda that aims at supporting the EU Green Deal and make sustainability consideration an integrate part of its financial policy.

For further information on the EU’s environment- and climate-related expenditure to meet the objectives of the European Green Deal, please consult the EEA’s indicator on ‘Environmental protection expenditure’.