In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie talks about sustainable finance with Bruegel’s Silvia Merler and Dirk Schoenmaker. How will markets adjust to the European Union’s new disclosure framework, watered down by an 'omnibus' simplification package. Is it really simpler? Who is using the new disclosures and how could clearer rules attract more investment? How can the EU manage the creative destruction of transition and minimise the risk of stranded assets? They also discuss how United States asset managers invest and how they cast their governance votes. Should the European Central Bank offer a separate interest rate for finance linked to the energy transition? How do green bonds, sustainability-linked bonds and transition finance work in the market? For sustainable finance to reach its potential, the EU will need to improve its capital markets generally and find ways to make its disclosure framework more practical and internationally viable.Relevant research: Merler, S. (2025) ‘How to improve the European Union’s sustainable finance framework’, Policy Brief 05/2025, Bruegel. Merler, S. (2025a) 'Streamlining or hollowing out? The implications of the Omnibus package for sustainable finance', First Glance, 03 March, Bruegel. Schoenmaker, D. (2026) 'Risks for Europe of US dominance of global asset management', Policy Brief 07/2026, Bruegel.

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