* * *  MAINTAINING THE EU AS GLOBAL LEADER IN SUSTAINABLE FINANCE Ladies and Gentlemen, The EU has been the global leader in sustainable finance for as long as sustainable finance has been a thing. And this does not mean only green bonds and similar traditional green investment instruments; it also covers more recent instruments such as sustainability-linked loans.
And while in this speech I will be focusing mainly on the green, it is worth remembering that the EU is also among the world leaders in social finance. It is worth noticing that the EU is not alone in increasing green investments. Other countries and regions are also growing and, in some cases, even faster than the EU, albeit from lower initial levels.