Navigating the landscape of EU sustainable finance regulation: challenges and imperatives to enforce sustainability financial promises in the EU through harmonized private enforcement mechanisms

Sustainability financial disputes against financial firms have emerged as a focal point within legal discourse in the absence of other private enforcement mechanisms. This study explores the strategic implications of sustainability financial disputes, intertwining individual interests with broader societal concerns, and offers a novel methodology rooted in case law analysis. Despite the absence of explicit private enforcement mechanisms in EU capital markets laws, our examination highlights the crucial role of private enforcement in supplementing public regulatory frameworks. The proposal calls for regulatory reforms to harmonize obligations and enforcement measures at the EU level, extending to exploring corporate governance, fiduciary duties, and the role of not-for-profit organizations in boosting sustainable finance. Looking ahead, we advocate for the use of standardized technical sustainability standards to streamline dispute resolution processes and enhance clarity and consistency in sustainability financial disputes and a unified cause of action, taking as reference point the language of the civil liability provision included in the EU Credit Rating Agencies Regulation . This study sheds light on the complex enforcement landscape surrounding sustainability financial disputes and offers practical insights for policymakers and legal practitioners alike, addressing varying interpretations by national adjudicators on sustainability criteria that may lead to market fragmentation. In summary, the proposal offers a novel examination of tensions between issuers and investors in green securities offerings, emphasizing the integration of sustainability considerations, and reorients the legal focus to address emerging challenges in the rapidly expanding green investment market, providing an innovative perspective on the critical issue of advancing lending to green finance while harmonizing enforcement measures to ensure market integrity, legal certainty and investor protection.