Following the Socialists and Democrats’ lead, the European Parliament last week endorsed, with the Climate Law, an ambitious 60% emissions reduction target for 2030.  Today, a crucial vote on the financing of the transition to a sustainable society and economy will take place in the European Parliament. The S&Ds campaigned to put the Green Deal at the heart of the new Commission’s work programme, now they are pushing for its financing to be sufficient, sustainable and social.

Paul Tang, S&D MEP and author of the report on sustainable finance, said:

“We can only fight the climate emergency and cut our emissions by 60% in the next 10 years, if we mobilise all available private and public funds for the transition to a carbon-free society. 

“This means putting an end to greenwashing, not only of private, but also of public investments. They should all use the EU's green taxonomy framework as proof that their sustainability claims are true. A robust "do no significant harm" test will ensure that not a single euro of public funding, including from the EU's Covid-19 recovery funds, goes to activities that harm our people and the planet.

“Providing reliable data to investors will for sure encourage more sustainable investments. At the same time, we must not only discourage, but phase out unsustainable investments completely. We also want Central Banks to stop providing loans to polluters, who are poisoning our planet and are threatening the stability of our economy. 

“To reach our climate goals, not only our spending but also our revenue must become more sustainable. This is why we call for greening taxation at the national and EU level to make polluters pay. We must crack down on tax avoidance and tax fraud, to reclaim money that rightfully belongs to society and make sure it flows into creating a better and more sustainable future for all.”

Pierre Larrouturou S&D MEP and budget negotiator for the report, said:

“With this report, MEPs confront the Heads of State with their responsibilities: the Green Deal, the climate law, are they just empty promises? Greenwashing? Or, will we give ourselves the means to finance our climate ambition?

“The first solution, the one to be decided in the coming weeks, is the Tax on speculation. According to the report, this tax is clearly the resource which has the highest income, up to 57 billion per year.

“Our report recalls that, according to the European Commission, a minimum of € 660 billion is needed each year to achieve the objectives of the Green Deal. Our responsibility is to say where to find these billions, private and public, at European level as well as at national level. MEPs take their responsibilities and provide concrete solutions to find these €660 billion: stop fossil fuel subsidies and investments, make better use of the billions created by the European Central Bank and most urgently, a real European climate budget fuelled by a basket of new resources, starting with a tax on speculation, the Tax on Financial Transactions. It is now up to the Heads of State to assume their responsibilities, as we negotiate the European budget for the next 7 years. Climate advocates around the world have their eyes on Europe: will it succeed in its Green Deal? We have no right to fail. Nothing would be worse than a Green Deal without funding, it would be just greenwashing. In 7 years it will be too late to act. Young people mobilized for the climate will hate us and they will be right. ”