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Sweden Says EU Plan to Hit World’s Busiest Green Debt Market

By Frąnces S^YWłrtzkoęff

December 21.2020.6:00 AM GMT+1 Updatedon December21. 2020. 1:39 PMGMT+1

►    Swedsh bu'!d/igs ekgible for green bond funding face bg cut

►    Varying national energy rules make common ground hard to fmd

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Sweden is fighting a draft Eurcpean climate rreasure thai it says coukj harm iis world-beatng green bond market

The European Commission, which wants to stee' investors to socialhy and environmentalhy sustainable asse:s, is proposing that only bjildings certified as s jper-energy efficent by national authorities be inciuded in its taxonomy. Being exc!uded would make financing morę expensive.

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But national energy requirements differ and s nce Sweden imposes some of Europes toughest, the EU's framework would ultimately dramatically shrink the pool of Swedish assets that could be funded with green bonds. The Swedish Bankers' Associaton says the fallout could leave jusi 1% of the total eligible, compared with as much as 20% in other counrries.

Sweden isrft alcne in opposing the draft definition, but it would be among the hardest hit.

“The requirements for energy classes dffer significanily between member States," Swedish Financial Ma-kets Minister Per Bolund said in an email. "The effect of this is a very hetercgeneous classification of buildings and lack of transparency."