1. Ariane de Dominicis – DG Environment
Investments and resource efficiency in the EU
Seminar "EU priorities and support for investments in the water sector" Brussels – 8 March 2013
Ariane de Dominicis – DG Environment

2. Ressource efficiency
Resource efficiency: producing with less resource and preserving natural capital; key for growth and jobs
Interlinkages between resources, for example water and energy
A priority for the European Commission: Flagship under the 2020 strategy and Roadmap to a resource efficient Europe (COM(2011)571)
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3. The need for private investments in ressource efficiency
A transition to a more resource efficient economy is needed…
…and will require significant investments…
… not only in the "sustainability" sector but also for mainstreaming sustainability into the economy
Importance of private capital for that transition
Specific context: economic crisis, less financing from banks available
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4. Barriers to investment in ressource efficiency (1/2)
Barrier n°1: insufficient inclusion of external costs in resource price
Environmentally Harmful Subsidies
(Lack of) environmental taxation
Prevents resource efficient activities to be economically viable
Barrier n°2: risk
Technology risk
Policy risk
Resource price risk
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5. Barriers to investment in ressource efficiency (2/2)
Barrier n°3: complexity and lack of information
Lack of capacity from economic and financial actors
Complexity of projects
Need for information for investors in stocks/bonds market
Barrier n°4: short-termism
Built-in incentives for short term performance in financial markets…
… and need for long-term investments for resource efficiency
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6. How to address barriers to investments? (1/2)
Dialogue with the financial sector: the Resource Efficiency Finance Roundtable
Barrier n°1: insufficient inclusion of external costs in resource price
European Semester: environmental taxation and addressing Environmentally Harmful Subsidies
Barrier n°2: risk
Development of financial instruments / risk sharing
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7. How to address barriers to investments? (2/2)
Barrier n°3: complexity and lack of information
Initiatives to increase availability of information: for retail investors (KID), for companies (non-financial reporting)
Technical assistance to address complex projects / capacity building (for example, resource audits in several Member States)
Disclosure of environmental information made mandatory by certain stock exchanges
Barrier n°4: short-termism
Green Paper on Long Term Financing of the European economy
Other initiatives on eg corporate governance
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8. Thank you for your attention