IPSF Reports Discuss Various Aspects of ESG Work in Member Countries
EC announced that it welcomes the Ministry of Finance of Malaysia into the International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF), along with the publication of three reports by IPSF. In context of the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26, IPSF also published a statement reaffirming the commitment of IPSF members to international cooperation in the development of globally comparable and interoperable sustainability approaches and tools. The reports IPSF published cover the commonalities between the green taxonomies of European Union and China, the annual report of activities of IPSF, and the state of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures across IPSF jurisdictions. In addition to the report on Common Ground Taxonomy, IPSF published a Common Ground Taxonomy table as well as a call for feedback for the taxonomy table. The IPSF is consulting stakeholders on the Common Ground Taxonomy activities table until January 04, 2022.
On the occasion of the IPSF Annual Event organized under the EU Pavilion at the COP26 on November 04, 2021, the following three reports have been published and presented:
- Report on Common Ground Taxonomy. This report provides an in-depth comparison and puts forward areas of commonality between the green taxonomies of European Union and China. This work will be expanded over time. The current Common Ground Taxonomy covers economic activities in six areas: energy, manufacturing, construction, transportation, solid waste management, and forestry. The working group on taxonomies, initiated by the European Union and China, plans to expand the scope of the Common Ground Taxonomy to include more sustainable activities, which will contribute to greater comparability, interoperability and consistency of sustainable taxonomies.
- IPSF Annual Report 2021. This report gives an overview of the work of the platform during the year, chief among that being the work on taxonomies and disclosures. This annual report also looks at the progress of member jurisdictions in the area of sustainable finance. Most member jurisdictions have established taskforces dedicated to sustainable finance, as a public-private platform, to discuss approaches to sustainable finance. In some jurisdictions, dedicated taskforces have been established to develop taxonomies. Also, progress has been made on disclosures, with some member jurisdictions adopting or planning to adopt mandatory climate-related disclosures based on the recommendations by the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and some going even beyond and having disclosures across the full ESG range of issues.
- Report on ESG disclosures. This report provides an overview of the state of ESG disclosure-related policy measures, including laws, regulations, but also recommendations and guidelines, across IPSF jurisdictions, Brazil, and the US. It further describes the key characteristics of the different approaches, also identifying the emerging global trends and key gaps that need to be addressed to effectively and substantially enhance transparency around sustainability impacts and risks.
Related Links
- Press Release on Malaysia (PDF)
- Notification on IPSF Reports
- IPSF Annual Report (PDF)
- Report on Taxonomy (PDF)
- Report on ESG Disclosures (PDF)
- Taxonomy Table (PDF)
- Call for Feedback (PDF)
- COP26 Statement
Comment Due Date: January 04, 2022
Keywords: International, Asia Pacific, China, Banking, Insurance, Securities, Sustainable Finance, Common Ground Taxonomy, ESG, Climate Change Risk, TCFD, IPSF, Disclosures, EU, EC
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