Joint statement from EuropeanIssuers, FESE and ICMA on the European Green Bonds Regulation

EuropeanIssuers, FESE and ICMA have joined forces to share their concerns on the direction of discussions around the European Green Bond Regulation. We are especially worried about some proposals that would introduce a mandatory regime for the issuance of all bonds labelled as ‘green’ by:

• establishing additional disclosure requirements for ‘green use-of-proceeds bonds’ and ‘sustainability-linked bonds’.
• subjecting all potential issuers of green bonds aligned with the EUGBS to the Prospectus Regulation.

These proposals deviate from the initial market-driven policy objective of the regulatory initiative, which is based on a voluntary standard. The introduction of a mandatory regime at this stage could have a detrimental impact on the growth of the green and sustainable bond market in Europe. In this context, we strongly encourage removing the proposal for additional disclosure requirements for bonds labelled as ‘green’ and that companies that issue bonds on private placements, and on MTFs, can also benefit from the EUGBS. In this context, we strongly recommend that the suggested additional reporting requirements for bonds labelled as "green" are not included and that companies issuing bonds in private placements, and in MTFs, are able to benefit from the EUGBS.