Issues with EU disclosure and taxonomy regulation

When assessing the existing ESG rules set out in the EU disclosure and taxonomy regulation for the real estate sector, writes Jochen Schenk, chief executive officer and chair of the board at Real I.S., one particular question springs to mind: Does the current regulatory framework actually work?

The answer is complex. Fundamentally, says Schenk, the ESG provisions are an important step in the right direction. Without the ESG regulations, not enough would happen for the real estate sector to help the European Union become carbon neutral by 2050. All parties, however, are clearly aware that the existing provisions on ESG leave room for improvement.

There are problems with the regulations. Several elements of various directives do not really fit together. This especially applies to their time sequence. The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), for example, which aims to ensure transparency, was published before the EU taxonomy, which means it was not fully harm