More than 90 organisations representing civil society, business, banks and investor interests, express deep concern over the misrepresentation of EU sustainability reporting as a threat to competitiveness.
Our joint statement, published on 12 December, is a response to the recent omnibus proposal announcement by EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen.
The Commission has stated that scaling up sustainable finance is a major priority. Achieving that requires access to consistent and reliable information on businesses’ sustainability performance, enabling better transparency and comparability.
Sustainability reporting is a vital tool for businesses, enabling companies to manage risks, identify opportunities, and drive long-term growth. The statement highlights the flexible and proportional nature of the framework and offers practical solutions to address overcompliance challenges.
At a moment where European leaders are seeking to boost competitiveness and attract major financing to support companies’ sustainability transition, the EU sustainability reporting framework plays a key role in protecting the EU market and levelling the playing field with global players.
The statement signatories call on European and national policymakers to focus on supporting a smart and easy implementation of EU sustainability reporting standards, instead of playing ping-pong with the legal framework.
Read the full statement here: Smart implementation of EU sustainability reporting standards: make complying with rules easy
The Turów brown coal (lignite) mine near Poland’s border with Germany and the Czech Republic is filling the atmosphere with dangerous toxins.
The threatened loss of drinking water for tens of thousands of people in the Czech Republic’s Liberec region has earned the notice of Politico, a Brussels-based news site. Politico reported on the plans for the expansion of the Turów brown coal mine in Poland, near the Czech/German/Polish border.
Thirty thousand people in the Czech Republic’s Liberec region face a loss of access to drinking water due to the planned expansion of the Turów coal mine. This mine is planned to newly stretch outwards to just 150 meters from the Czech border and downwards to a depth below the bottom of the Baltic. The resulting drainage of Czech underground water is not just a threat to citizens; the drying out of the area would destroy entire local ecosystems and cause significant agricultural damage. A further increase to dust and noise levels is a threat as well. Furthermore, the end date for mining is to be delayed from 2020 out to 2044.
