The Austrian National Bank (OeNB) published an overview of the Green Finance Conference being held in Vienna on 15–16 May 2025, focused on how financial flows can support responses to ecological challenges while underpinning economic development. The conference is organised jointly with the Austrian Environment Agency and Austria’s Federal Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management, in cooperation with German-speaking environmental agencies. Under the theme of “building bridges”, the programme brings together participants from finance and the real economy, policymakers, academia and civil society to strengthen cross-sector cooperation and channel capital towards sustainable solutions. OeNB Governor Robert Holzmann linked the pathway to climate neutrality by 2040 to substantial investment needs, particularly in energy, industry, buildings and mobility, and put the EU’s green and digital transformation financing requirement at over EUR 700 billion per year, arguing that a deeper, more liquid capital market and the planned EU Capital Markets Union could help direct funding to higher-impact uses. The EU taxonomy was positioned as a key reference point for future investment decisions by setting criteria for environmentally sustainable investment and improving transparency. European Central Bank Executive Board member Frank Elderson emphasised that banks need to adequately manage climate- and nature-related financial risks and warned that attempts to simplify corporate sustainability reporting under the European Commission’s Omnibus regulation should not result in missing critical data points; other topics include Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, data gaps, impact measurement, implementation tools and greenwashing. The Green Finance Conference is held every two years and sits within the “Science & Practice for Green Finance” conference series initiated in 2018 by environmental agencies from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.
Austrian National Bank (OeNB) 2025-05-15
Austrian National Bank hosts Green Finance Conference as Holzmann highlights EUR 700 billion annual EU transition investment need
The Austrian National Bank (OeNB) hosted the Green Finance Conference in Vienna, focusing on aligning financial flows with ecological and economic goals. OeNB Governor Robert Holzmann highlighted the EU's annual EUR 700 billion green and digital transformation financing needs, advocating for a deeper capital market and the EU Capital Markets Union. European Central Bank Executive Board member Frank Elderson emphasized managing climate-related financial risks and comprehensive corporate sustainability reporting.