The European Commission has named its latest slate of sustainability advisers, who will help shape the future of the EU’s green taxonomy and scale climate transition finance in the region.
Helena Viñes Fiestas, a commissioner of the Spanish Financial Markets Authority and co‑chair of the UN Taskforce on Net Zero Policy, has been reappointed as chair of the Platform on Sustainable Finance (PSF).
There are only a handful of financial institutions represented as members on the new platform: French asset manager Mirova, Swedish bank SEB, Germany’s Deutsche Bank, and insurers Covea and Generali.
Other specialists include think tank and consultancy firm, the International Sustainable Finance Centre; accountancy giant PwC; German think tank ClimateCompany; and RISE, a Swedish state-owned research institute.
Sustainalytics and the Principles for Responsible Investment are among the few organisations to be carried over from the previous Platform, which was appointed in 2023. Academic Andreas Hoepner has also retained his position.
Meanwhile, the Climate Bonds Initiative, 2 Degrees Investing Initiative, Credit Agricole, CDP and AXA Investment Management have all been removed from the body.
Of the 22 organisations officially represented – and the six members participating in their personal capacity — most are now non-financial companies, their trade bodies or employees.
There are also 16 observers, including the European Central Bank, Luxembourg Sustainable Finance Initiative, ShareAction, Bloomberg and the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group.
The UN, the OECD, the European Stability Mechanism and the European Network of the Heads of Environment Protection Agencies are also represented.
The main focus of the next PSF, whose mandate runs until the end of 2027, will be revisions to the EU’s Taxonomy Regulation, to make it more business-friendly.
It is also expected to advise the Commission on other sustainability topics, including how to scale climate transition finance in the bloc.
The Platform will continue to monitor the flow of capital into climate-aligned activities.
“With this new mandate, the Platform on Sustainable Finance will help us make the EU Taxonomy and the wider sustainable finance framework simpler, clearer and more usable, without lowering our level of ambition,” said Maria Luis Albuquerque, Europe’s commissioner for financial services, in a statement on the appointments.
