Plenary 3: The transition taxonomy debate

A graduate in monetary and financial economics of Bocconi University, Milan, Aldo shaped EIB’s first Climate Awareness Bond, the world’s first green bond, in 2007. In 2017-18, he co-authored two White Papers on the Need for a Common Language in Green Finance with the China Green Finance Committee, using them to . support EIB’s proposals on taxonomy and green bond standard in EC’s High-Level and Technical Expert Groups (where Aldo was member of the subgroup on EU Green Bond Standard) as well as within the Green Bond Principles (where Aldo co-chaired the working group on Green Projects Eligibility in 2018/19). EIB has been the first issuer to tune the documentation of its Sustainability Funding instruments to the EU Taxonomy Regulation which entered into force in July 2020.
Market recognition includes awards with Global Capital (“Overall Most Impressive Green/SRI Bond Funding Official” in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019) as well as with Environmental Finance (“Green Bond Personality of the Year” in 2018).

Emmanuel Buttin is the lead on the Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy at the European Commission (DG FISMA), and also works for the secretariat of the International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF). Mr. Buttin is on a secondment from the Banque de France, where he has been a policy expert since 2016, working on green finance and supporting the secretariat of the Network of central banks and supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS). Mr. Buttin also held a teaching position in economy at the Université de Paris Descartes. Mr. Buttin holds a Master in Public Affairs from Sciences Po Paris.

Jason co-leads Scotiabank’s Sustainable Finance Group in its Global Banking and Markets division. The group is tasked with integrating sustainable finance into its global capital markets activities. He represents the bank on the CSA Transition Finance Committee as well as the ICMA Transition Finance Working Group.

A believer in the power of capital to play a catalytic role in achieving sustainability objectives, he volunteers with community groups to integrate social and sustainable finance. A mentor in McConnell Foundation’s: Solutions Finance Accelerator, and the University of Montreal’s student-athlete program Parcours Leadership Carabins.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in finance from Dalhousie University, and an MBA from McGill-HEC Montreal focusing in sustainability. His final paper provided 36 solutions addressing the friction points in capital markets disrupting the flow of capital towards the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda. Nominated to the Poets and Quants Top 100 list in 2019, he holds the CAIA and CFA designations.

Sophie has a particular focus on climate change economics within the team. Before joining RI, she was News Editor at Environmental Finance where she specialised in green bonds and low-carbon indices – winning a State Street Institutional Press Award for her coverage of passive investment. Sophie began her career after being awarded a scholarship from the Guardian’s Scott Trust in 2012 to do an MA in print journalism. After qualifying, she worked for the Guardian, where she pursued stories around housing, government cuts and regeneration in London. Her work was shortlisted for The Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils in 2015.