Today, our Asset Management and Investment Funds Department hosted a webinar discussing the current status of the implementation of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR”) and the Taxonomy Regulation, providing analysis and insights to over 200 attendees on the ongoing issues and actions to be taken by fund managers preparing for the upcoming deadlines.
Our partners Tara Doyle and Philip Lovegrove, together with senior associate Anthony Gaskin and professional support lawyer Brónagh Maher, outlined some of the key developments to date, including the European Commission’s Q&A published in July 2021 in response to a number of queries raised by the European Supervisory Authorities (“ESAs”) and the implications of the delay to the application date of the detailed level 2 measures or regulatory technical standards (“RTS”), now expected to apply from 1 July 2022.
The panel also discussed the various approaches to complying with the next legislative deadline, that is, 1 January 2022, when fund managers will be required to disclose under the Taxonomy Level 1 requirements how and to what extent underlying investments are in economic activities that qualify as environmentally sustainable under the Taxonomy Regulation. Recent engagements, both at a European and domestic level, between industry and regulators were discussed, including the Central Bank of Ireland’s fast-track process for filings as set out in its document published today: “Process clarifications for UCITS and AIFs pre-contractual documentation updates in relation to the Taxonomy Regulation and Level 2 measures in relation to the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation” (available here), which will require impacted funds to make the necessary filings with the Central Bank by 14 December 2021.
The panel discussion wrapped up with an overview of the key changes in the most recent draft RTS published by the ESAs on 22 October 2021.
If you would like to be invited to future Matheson webinars, you can subscribe to our various mailing lists here. If you would like to access a recording of the above webinar, please contact knowledge.insights@matheson.com.
To read more about these developments, please visit our Sustainable Finance page.