20 October 2023

Stock Exchanges preparing markets for new climate disclosure standards

Stock exchanges are uniquely positioned to enable adoption of a global baseline of sustainability-related financial disclosures through market education and guidance and are working with the UN SSE and its partners to provide globally consistent, high-quality training and guidance ...

Stock exchanges, together with the UN SSE, IFC and the IFRS Foundation, will be providing global market participants with high-quality training and guidance on the latest standards for climate and sustainability disclosures published by the IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board. Stock exchanges are uniquely positioned to enable adoption of a global baseline of sustainability-related financial disclosures through market education and guidance and are working with the UN SSE and its partners to provide globally consistent, high-quality training and guidance to their market participants on this and other topics.   Building on more than 200 hours of training for 23,000 participants on the FSB’s task force on climate-related financial disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, the SSE has partnered with IFC and the IFRS Foundation to develop a training program supporting companies to update disclosure practices using the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. Training will be offered in partnership with UN SSE Partner Exchanges with the first sessions taking place in November.  “Stock exchanges are ideally placed to support the adoption of a global baseline of sustainability-related financial disclosures through the recently launched IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. By working with the IFC and the IFRS Foundation, the UN SSE is supporting stock exchanges to fulfill this role and to continue to guide their markets on implementing these standards to enhance the transparency and sustainability of capital markets around the globe. This high-quality training program will provide all market participants with the stepping stone to start their learning journey,” said Anthony Miller, Chief Coordinator of the UN SSE.  “Disclosure is a foundational element of transparent and efficient financial markets. By adopting climate disclosure requirements, stock exchanges allow investors to allocate capital to climate-friendly products, services, and companies. Ultimately, businesses can improve their strategic resilience in facing climate-related challenges,” said Martine Valcin, Global Manager, ESG Advisory, Knowledge and Learning at IFC.  “Stock exchanges play a crucial role in efforts to raise the bar in the quality of sustainability-related disclosures. We are grateful to the UN SSE for their partnership in developing this training that will directly support the ability of companies to provide investors with consistent, comparable decision-useful disclosures in accordance with the ISSB Standards,” said Emmanuel Faber, Chair, ISSB.

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