On the 30 September 2022, the European Supervisory Authorities ("ESAs") published their final report on the draft regulatory technical standards ("RTS") complementing the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation ("SFDR"). Unbeknownst to many, the RTS (scheduled to come into force on the 1 January 2023) were due yet another upgrade in order to take into account the changes required as a result of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1214 of the 9 March 2022, which – after having given rise to heated debate over the summer months – effectively allows certain fossil gas and nuclear investments to be treated as 'environmentally sustainable' under the EU taxonomy.
On the 1 November 2022, the European Commission (having considered the report referred to above) formally adopted a legislative proposal for a new delegated regulation amending the RTS in line with the changes highlighted above (the "Proposal").
What has changed?
The Proposal amends the contents of the pre-contractual disclosures to be made by financial market participants and/or financial advisors in the context of Article 8 and Article 9 products – principally by altering the reporting templates provided as part of the RTS. The Proposal further clears a number of incorrect references and typos, but does not otherwise radically alter the contents of previous iterations of the RTS.
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