Investments European Central Bank must be greener - Main contents

Paul Tang: “The European Central Bank should show that its bank’s massive corporate bond-buying program is in line with EU climate commitments. A recent study shows that a considerable share of the purchases is bought from carbon intensive corporations. If we take the Paris climate agreements seriously, the financial sector should stop investing in fossil fuels. This surely also applies to the ECB. Therefore I asked Mario Draghi for clarification.”

Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, is called to account by Paul Tang and two of his colleagues at the Socialists & Democrats. In a letter they ask the president of the central bank for clarification on the climate consequences of ECB policies. So far, the ECB has declined to disclose information on the climate impact of its purchase programme.”

The three MEP’s underline that the ECB is also part of the Paris agreements and therefore should support sustainable finance.

Paul Tang already pointed out the importance of making the financial sector more sustainable: “There’s a big assignment for us: money should serve a cleaner and fairer society. Financial institutions still invest billions in grey sectors, such as fossil energy, while 180 billion of yearly additional investments are needed to make our infrastructure more sustainable.”