EU Finance Day 2026 - Cyprus

Mobilizing sustainable finance is key for delivering on the EU’s policy objectives under the European green deal and the EU Climate Law as well as on the EU’s international commitments to international climate and environmental objectives. The Commission estimates the investment gap for the EU’s green transition to be EUR 700 billion p.a. in additional investments until 2030 compared to the previous decade. To close this gap, the Commission is putting in place a Sustainable Finance Framework, aiming to channel private and public funds into the transition to a climate-neutral, climate-resilient, resource-efficient, and fair economy. The EU’s Sustainable Finance Framework builds on three pillars: 

• Disclosure of sustainability information 

• The EU Taxonomy classifying investments as sustainable or not and thus, guiding investors, and 

• A toolbox with labels, standards, advisory services, and financial support.

In the EU's policy context, sustainable finance is understood as finance to support economic growth while reducing pressure on the environment and helping to reach the climate and environmental objectives of the European Green Deal. Social and governance aspects are considered, too.  

Europe’s 24 million SMEs, constituting around 99% of all companies outside the financial sector, need to be at the heart of the EU’s efforts. Collectively, they have a significant environmental footprint and are estimated to be responsible for 60–70% of industrial pollution and waste in the EU2. In addition, some of these SMEs drive innovation, which is needed to achieve the European Green Deal’s objectives. The European Commission works on creating favourable conditions for SMEs to seize these opportunities and play their role. It is against this background that several tools in the EU toolbox such as the InvestEU Sustainability Guarantee and the Sustainability Advisors under the Enterprise Europe Network target SMEs specifically.

For more information, please click: Overview of sustainable finance - European Commission (europa.eu)