Banks, insurers and fund companies make every effort to get private investors interested in sustainable financial investments. This is not just done with the intention of stopping climate change. The focus on environmental protection, social development and good corporate governance offers the unique opportunity to sell repackaged financial products under this seal. And the green investments are anything but cheap for investors. This also explains the considerable doubts in the German population about the meaning and purpose of these products, as a survey commissioned by the Hamburg-based private bank MM Warburg & Co shows.
This skepticism is likely to increase due to the decision of the EU Commission to classify nuclear power as sustainable.
It is not a question of whether nuclear power is good or bad.
Rather, the discussion shows how sustainability can be defined according to political preferences.
That is not convincing.
It is all the more important for financial service providers to comply with their duty to provide information and to advise customers fairly, including about the limits of sustainable investments.