The energy transition is no longer an environmental issue: it embodies a lever of sovereignty and resilience, where transparency and responsibility become the keys to success.
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In a context of geopolitical instability and market volatility, dependence on fossil fuels appears to be a major vulnerability for European economies. Businesses and households remain exposed to international price fluctuations and the risk of supply disruptions. This energy dependence weakens both the industrial competitiveness and the economic stability of the continent. From now on, the energy transition must be thought of as a lever for economic sovereignty. The development of renewable energies and the improvement of energy efficiency are no longer limited to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. They also contribute to energy independence and strengthening economic resilience.
Some powers have already integrated this strategic reading of the energy transition. This is particularly the case for China, which has made clean technologies a pillar of its industrial policy. For more than a decade, Beijing has invested heavily in renewable energy, electricity networks and storage technologies. China is today the world’s leading producer of solar panels, wind turbines and batteries for electric vehicles. It also dominates a large part of the supply chain for the minerals necessary for these technologies, such as lithium or rare earths.
This vision appears clearly in Mario Draghi’s report on European competitiveness. The energy transition is presented as a key lever for strengthening Europe’s economic sovereignty. However, through the application of the European project known as “Omnibus”, recent regulatory developments could weaken this ambition. They lead, among other things, to a weakening of the transparency requirements introduced by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). In the absence of this data, it becomes much more difficult to assess decarbonization trajectories and effectively direct financial flows towards activities compatible with the energy transition. This can only be managed effectively using reliable and comparable data. Transparency thus appears to be the first level of corporate responsibility.
Proxy models are only an imperfect stopgap. Based on estimates and assumptions, these models can introduce significant biases, mask sectoral or individual specificities and reduce the comparability of data. Relying on these approximations for too long threatens the credibility of sustainable finance and slows down the achievement of energy transition objectives. However, this transparency constitutes an essential tool for managing the energy transition. Data published by companies and banks on their emissions, energy consumption, financing or investments in clean technologies allows investors, public authorities and citizens to assess the progress made.
A strategy for reducing carbon emissions from the mortgage portfolio deployed by a bank constitutes a good example in this regard. By establishing conditions for granting credits arising directly from the federal legislative framework (with the application of the Ordinance relating to the report on climate issues) and the Implementing Regulations of the Energy Law, and by providing the transparency, required by the Code of Obligations, on the actions deployed, a bank contributes, at its level, to the efforts deployed across Switzerland to bring about the energy transition of its real estate portfolio. This approach helps to support the development of the Confederation’s energy independence.
Thus, sustainable finance is now equipped with a new narrative capable of transcending political divisions. Beyond just the environmental dimension, the energy transition is becoming a project of economic sovereignty and strategic resilience. In this context, transparency remains the first pillar of a company’s social responsibility.
