Federal Council wants to improve Swiss Climate Scores climate label
Published: Friday, Dec 8th 2023, 13:10
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The federal government wants to upgrade the climate seal of approval for financial products, the Swiss Climate Scores. The voluntary climate label, which was introduced in 2022 to provide climate transparency for funds, for example, is to be made more comprehensible and gain credibility.
A number of clarifications have been made to the updated Swiss Climate Scores, the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF) announced on Friday. The aim is to facilitate their implementation for the financial sector and to make them easier for investors to understand. The amendments will apply from 2025.
More transparency
Institutions are now required to answer questions on the investment objective in relation to the climate, although this is optional. Financial institutions can state and justify whether a product is climate-friendly or contributes to mitigating climate change. This is intended to create more transparency. In addition, not only the exposure to fossil fuels is to be disclosed, but also to renewable energies, as was also reported.
The Confederation has also set itself the goal of investigating the status of voluntary introduction by financial market players. According to the press release, the SIF will conduct an investigation into this starting next year.
The Confederation developed the Swiss Climate Scores in collaboration with associations from the financial sector, the University of Zurich, WWF and Greenpeace. The scores represent various climate aspects of the funds: Such as greenhouse gas emissions, net zero plans of invested companies or whether the financial product is in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.
Criticism remains
The criticism of the Swiss Climate Scores has not gone away, even in the course of the planned further development. The Federal Council has failed to eliminate the weaknesses, writes the WWF in a statement on Friday. Much remains voluntary and therefore ineffective. There is also a risk that the products will be presented better than they are in terms of climate issues.
Greenpeace had also hoped for more from the revision. According to the environmental organization, there are still gaps in the Swiss Climate Scores. In addition to the lack of binding nature, Greenpeace criticizes the fact that the climate indicators are still not meaningful enough.
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