Finance Minister Maurer says the Swiss government wants to strengthen the country's position as a financial hub by increasing transparency, more international involvement and improving risk assessment.
Keystone/Alessandro Della Valle
Finance Minister Ueli Maurer says Switzerland could be a pioneer for sustainable investment.
Maurer said Switzerland was well placed because there is plenty of expertise and financial resources in the country.
“There are people with plenty of money, particularly institutional investors such as pension funds and foundations,” he told SRF public television on Tuesday.
“They want to invest in sustainable projects which are beneficial for the environment.”
Maurer was speaking ahead of his trip to Glasgow to attend the United Nations Climate Change conference (COP26).
He said Switzerland “probably has one of the most environmentally-friendly financial sectors in the world” although international standards to gauge this are yet to be clearly defined.
It is too early to legislate on sustainable investment as the financial sector was changing fast, he added.
Maurer also said there is always a risk of greenwashing – providing misleading information about environmentally-friendly products for investors.
However, “Switzerland is keen to offer quality and to avoid such risks. Our banks and financial service sector are serious about this,” he said.
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