Sustainable investing is the new credo in the EU. The EU Commission has passed new guidelines on this. In the future, investments in gas and nuclear energy are also to be classified as green under certain conditions. But for investors from Switzerland, that won’t make a big difference, says financial center expert Sabine Döbeli.
SRF News: Will the green cloak for nuclear energy and electricity from gas power plants promote these technologies?
Sabine Döbeli: I don’t expect a funding effect for these technologies, but a less severe shortage of funds for such technologies.
Many fund providers have already announced that they will leave these technologies out.
Sustainable investors have made it clear in advance that they do not believe in counting nuclear power and gas as green activities. And many providers have already announced that they will leave these technologies out of their sustainable fund.
Don’t you expect more money from Switzerland to flow into gas and nuclear projects in the EU?
No. It was already difficult to find private investors for nuclear power plants. This is because other energy technologies simply have a better cost-benefit ratio. But nuclear power plants in particular are mainly financed by states, not by investors.
Legend:
Despite the EU’s decision, not many Swiss investors will invest in nuclear power, says Sabine Döbeli. If only because there is still no repository for the waste.
key stone
The EU’s decision will have a certain effect, if not on Swiss investors?
It may result in slightly less conventional funds excluding such technologies. In this respect, it is a political signal from the majority of EU countries that these technologies are seen as transitional technologies.
Are investments in renewable energies now being inhibited?
I don’t expect that. There are many investors who want to invest in suitable renewable technology companies. There are rather too few investment objects for it. If you look at government energy strategies, it’s different. It is now easier again for countries to say that they are relying on gas-fired power plants as a transitional technology. This makes it less urgent to create framework conditions that directly promote renewable energies.
Anyone who wants to invest sustainably tends to be critical of these technologies.
Would you advise the players in the Swiss financial center for whom you work to include gas and nuclear energy in their green portfolios?
No. I also don’t think many providers plan to integrate such technologies into green funds. Because it does not meet customer needs in Switzerland. Anyone who wants to invest sustainably tends to be critical of these technologies.
Its aim is to promote sustainable investments. Would you advise against investing in gas and nuclear energy?
That depends on the investor’s perspective. But if you want to invest sustainably, there are better alternatives.
For you, gas and nuclear power plants are not sustainable?
While gas-fired power plants produce fewer emissions than coal-fired power plants, it is quite clear that they also have significant climate emissions. Although the emissions from nuclear power are lower, we know that we have not solved the final storage problem. And in the event of an accident, the potential for damage is significant. That’s why I wouldn’t describe it as a sustainable technology in the narrower sense.
The conversation was conducted by Sandro della Torre.