The German government has chosen 20 experts to help it “simplify sustainable finance regulation” and bolster transition finance in the country.
The finance and environmental ministries announced a new slate of members for their long-standing joint advisory board for sustainable finance on Wednesday.
The board’s future had been in doubt following a lurch to the right in last year’s federal elections, but a decision was made to renew it. However, the latest version is smaller than previous iterations – the last group stood at 34 members, rather than 20.
Among those not to have been reappointed was long-serving member and chief economist of Munich Re, Michael Menhart.
Kerstin Lopatta and Ndidi Nnoli-Edozien, both specialists in sustainability reporting standards, are also missing from the list of new appointments.
New additions include Clara Mokry, the head of sustainability at Germany’s fund for financing nuclear-waste disposal, KENFO, and Heike Schmitz, a senior sustainable finance lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.
Henrik Pontzen, chief sustainability officer at Union Investment, was reappointed, alongside Gerald Podobnik, co-head of Deutsche Bank’s commercial banking arm, and Bettina Storck, Commerzbank’s chief sustainability officer.
Former chair Silke Stremlau, who runs a think tank called Finance4Transition, will continue to participate as a member.
A number of large companies in key sectors of Germany’s economy are represented, including energy, chemicals and steel — as well as start-ups and medium-sized businesses.
In addition to being smaller than previous versions, the new board also appears to have a less progressive focus.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Finance, the group has been tasked with advising the German government “on practical recommendations for simplifying sustainable finance regulation and mobilising private capital for the transformation”.
It said there was a need “to make sustainable finance regulation more practical”.
Germany was one of the biggest supporters of the European Union’s ‘omnibus’ project, which saw the bloc’s sustainable finance regulation pared back dramatically last year.
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and the Taxonomy Regulation were all reduced in scope and ambition as part of the initiative, which sought to improve the competitiveness of European companies in the global economy.
Many German politicians also supported cuts to EU rules on deforestation and greenwashing.
The Ministry of Finance noted that the new advisory board would be supported by national supervisory authorities and business associations.
