With the 2015 Paris Agreement, the international community agreed to limit the increase in global warming to two degrees Celsius by 2100. To achieve this goal, society as a whole must fundamentally rethink the way it thinks and acts. For the financial industry, the transformation to a low-carbon economy nevertheless represents a great opportunity to contribute to this process and to prove that it too has recognized the urgency of the issue. In this context, at this year's Swiss Finance Institute Annual Meeting, leading decision-makers from the banking sector discussed and debated with finance experts on the role the financial industry can play in the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Speakers at this year's Swiss Finance Institute Annual Meeting emphasized the need to join forces and, whenever possible, to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. First, they underscored the role of the financial industry, which already offers bank clients a wide range of ESG-compliant financial products as part of its business activities and is developing these products in line with new regulations, although consistent standards and terminology relating to sustainable financial products are only slowly being established in Switzerland. Secondly, speakers pointed out that nowadays financial institutions are already very careful and cautious about financing companies or industries that have a negative impact on the climate. 

Bank representatives in attendance, including Urs Rohner, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Credit Suisse, Patrick Odier, Senior Partner of the Geneva-based private bank Lombard Odier, and Dr. Romeo Cerutti, General Counsel of Credit Suisse and Chairman of the SFI Foundation Board, were in broad agreement about the obstacles and challenges that still need to be overcome on the path leading to sustainable finance. Among the topics discussed was the role of the European Union (EU), which has already defined and, for the most part, implemented numerous draft laws on sustainable finance. In addition, the Technical Expert Group on sustainable finance (TEG) has set out a report several hundred pages long with a classification system (or “taxonomy”) designed to help determine which economic activities deserve the “environmentally friendly” label. This much-cited compendium forms the basis for defining green financial products that really live up to their name. This is accompanied by an extensive information obligation, which will also be relevant for many Swiss financial service providers. 

The financial academic field, prominently represented by Prof. George Serafeim of Harvard Business School, is also calling for the transformation towards a low-carbon economy, while at the same time pointing out that the global environmental and climate problems will continue to worsen over the next few years, even if there is a significant change of course. This makes it all the more urgent for all players, on a wide front, to rethink their approach.
Due to the current Coronavirus situation, the Swiss Finance Institute Annual Meeting took place in a virtual setting, but was nevertheless followed by many participants via live streaming.

“Once more, SFI has shown that its impact is as strong as ever and that we – even under these extraordinary circumstances – reach large audiences from both academia and industry. The realization that SFI has become an integral part of the Swiss financial center makes me both proud and confident”, adds Prof. François Degeorge, SFI Managing Director.”