More than 200 investors, including 162 asset owners and asset managers with a combined €6.6 trillion assets under management, have signed a joint statement calling on the EU Commission to “preserve the integrity and ambition” of the EU’s sustainable finance framework.

The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), the European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif) and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) have made a joint statement calling on the EU not to weaken its position with its Omnibus package.

The EU Commission is expected to introduce an Omnibus package to amend key sustainable finance regulations on 26 February, but the investors are warning that the move is likely to create legal uncertainty and potentially undermine the “fundamental cornerstones of the EU’s sustainability policy architecture”.

The Commission wants to simplify the reporting and diligence rules, including environmental issues in supply chains and classification of ‘climate-friendly’ investments. The moves are, at least in part, a response to US measures to reduce its own regulations and EU companies complains of stifling red tape.

The statement says it recognises the need for targeted improvements but highlights the dangers of wholesale reopening of the three laws that could lead to a significant weakening of corporate sustainability disclosures.

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