Esko Kivisaari, Deputy Managing Director of the Federation of Finnish Financial Services (FFI), has been appointed as a member of the European Commission High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. The expert group will provide recommendations on steering public and private capital towards sustainable investments in the EU.
“It feels good to have been appointed despite the large number of applicants. One of my strengths probably was that I represent expertise in many different areas of the financial sector”, Kivisaari says.
“In appointing the members of our high level expert group, we have drawn on the best talent and expertise there is. They will ensure our approach to sustainable finance is ambitious and at the forefront of innovation”, stated European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, responsible for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union.
The objective of the group is to develop a comprehensive EU strategy on sustainable finance. Sustainability refers to the integration of environmental, social and administrative considerations. The group will, for example, be exploring solutions for avoiding economic crisis due to the use of CO2-heavy energy sources being limited to counter climate change.
“The financial sector has a large potential for social good. The financial crisis has lately cast a shadow over the sector’s reputation in spite of the fact that the Finnish financial sector did more to alleviate than cause the crisis. Working in the expert group will allow me to further my search for knowledge and theories that enable societies to manage the challenges presented by climate change, population ageing and political unrest”, says Kivisaari.
The high-level expert group comprises 20 policy leaders from civil society, the financial sector and academia. It will deliver its recommendations by the end of 2017.