Clifford Chance

New EU and UK rules on ESG ratings: impact on cross-border access to ESG ratings

12 August 2025

Both the EU and the UK are creating new regulatory regimes for providers of ESG ratings which could significantly affect cross-border access to ESG ratings. The new EU regime includes a relatively restrictive third-country regime for non-EU rating providers while the UK has yet to specify what market access regime will be available to non-UK rating providers.

This briefing provides a comparative overview of the planned timing of the new EU and UK regimes regulating ESG ratings, the territorial scope of the new regimes, the application of exemptions and exclusions in relation to cross-border business, the third-country regime under the new EU regulation and the UK proposals for a market access regime, and the possible impact on cross-border access to ESG ratings. It also includes a comparison of the new EU third-country regime for ESG ratings with the corresponding regimes under the EU Credit Rating Agencies Regulation and the recently amended EU Benchmarks Regulation.

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