June 12, 2019 "WE WILL LAUNCH SUSTAINABLE FINANCE TRAINING"

The "Stock Exchange Day" on Thursday, May 23, will deepen the theme of sustainable finance, placing the cursor on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. But finance never stays very far, as explained by Robert Scharfe, the CEO of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

To support a little more on the challenges of sustainable finance, the "Day of the stock market" of Thursday, May 23 aims to go beyond the only climate issues. With guests such as Michael Green, CEO of the New York NGO Social Progress Imperative, and Isabelle Durant, Deputy Secretary General of Unctad, the goal will be to push the cursor further than just climate issues. The point with the CEO of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, Robert Scharfe.

For this Stock Exchange Day, you have decided to look again at green finance ...

Robert Scharfe. - "Yes, sustainability is a theme that is very dear to us, it is a very important issue. But we did not want to limit ourselves to climate issues, the challenges are even deeper. As stated in the title of the conference, 'it's not just climate change, it's about everything change!'

Phenomena such as poverty are also dangerous for the health of the global economy. Together with our guests, we will review the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. This is a subject that concerns everyone, there is a big effort of education to achieve.

But we could still be surprised to see the Luxembourg Stock Exchange focus on the objectives of the United Nations ...

"The link is not so far apart. To meet these various objectives, it will be necessary to mobilize a great deal of capital. We are obviously not an NGO, but we launched the Luxembourg Green Exchange three years ago, and we are the world leader with a 50% market share in sustainable products.

So we have an important role to play in finding that capital. The world is changing, and economic and financial actors have understood the value of integrating elements of sustainability in their behavior and investments.

We will soon be offering sustainable finance training to professionals.
Robert Scharfe, CEO, Luxembourg Stock Exchange

You have a head start ... you will have to keep it. What are your plans to stay on top of sustainable finance?

"It's a process that's only at the beginning. We started with sustainable social bonds and funds. All this still represents only 2% of all possible products. We will continue to deepen and broaden our focus on other products. We intend to bet on ever more transparency.

We therefore plan to create a database that will isolate relevant information for investors. We will also soon launch the LGX Academy, which will offer training in sustainable finance to professionals. In June, we will already be organizing, in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (World Bank, Ed), a course on sustainable bonds for bankers in 15 emerging countries. All of this could benefit us when they emit it. "

Luxembourg Stock Exchange

Source: Written by Jean-Michel Lalieu
Posted On 23.05.2019 • Published On 23.05.2019
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