Finance
Europe’s Big Climate Reveal Gets Stuck on Sovereign Bonds
- Disclosure rules for asset managers held up on government debt
- Credibility of ESG enforcement at stake, some investors say
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
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Europe’s effort to prod investors to the front lines of the climate change fight is hitting a snag: confusion over how to treat 12.4 trillion euros ($15 trillion) of central government debt, the biggest slice of the bond market.
Asset managers will have to disclose next year the extent to which their funds are invested in what the European Union considers environmentally sustainable activities. But the green list doesn’t address government services, leaving the regulators to debate whether the final disclosure requirement should exclude sovereign bonds from the outset.