Angelini warns reporting cuts weaken transition finance
Paolo Angelini, Director General of the Bank of Italy, warned that reduced sustainability reporting weakens the information available to financiers. At the ASviS report presentation in Rome, he called for stable rules and support for firms' transition investments.
Fewer disclosures, more financing uncertainty
Angelini said the February 2026 Omnibus package would reduce Italian companies covered by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive from about 8,000 to 1,000. Poor or incomparable information and changing incentives raise uncertainty and investors' required risk premiums.
He favored helping steel and cement producers decarbonize over selling their exposures.
Green bonds expanded rapidly in 2014-2024, with Europe becoming the largest market.
Italian green mortgages doubled their share of new lending to 12 percent in 2022-2024.
Space conditioning and water heating account for two-thirds of household energy use.
The Bank of Italy proposed a simpler green-loan definition; Angelini linked any capital relief to robust evidence of lower risk.
Industrial roofs offer untapped capacity
Fully using existing industrial roofs for solar panels would double installed photovoltaic capacity, at an estimated cost of €30-36 billion.
Angelini pointed to third-party financing and long-term electricity supply contracts as investment tools.
European Investment Bank surveys show smaller firms face greater financing barriers despite growing interest in efficiency.
He urged faster permits, grids and storage investment, noting Professor Giovannini's proposal to transfer permitting powers from regions to the state.
Finance supports, not directs
Angelini places responsibility for the transition with governments, firms and households, not financiers.
His case for cheaper green lending rests on demonstrated credit risk, not environmental labels alone.
Stable rules and usable data are therefore prerequisites for the financing approach he advocates.