CDSB welcomes the Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy and the EU’s intention to contribute to the development of ambitious reporting standards in Europe and beyond, building on the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures.
Under
this new strategy and in close collaboration with relevant
international fora, initiatives and standards setters, the EU has the
opportunity to significantly contribute to the elaboration of global
sustainable finance standards and frameworks on sustainability
disclosure.
CDSB commends the
commitments from the G7 and key jurisdictions throughout the world
on sustainable finance and mandatory corporate disclosures in
the runup to COP26 later this year. The European Union has been one of
the leading voices in these debates and has already initiated the update
of its corporate reporting rules under the Corporate Sustainability
Reporting Directive last April.
We
are encouraged to see in the strategy the willingness of the EU to
contribute and build on global developments in this space, including on
global sustainability reporting standards, which are needed to ensure
that sustainability risks are adequately considered in global
financial markets. In this respect, the involvement of the EU in
international fora, including the Financial Stability Board or
the International Platform on Sustainable Finance, will be key to move
towards further harmonisation of sustainable finance frameworks,
standards and tools.
CDSB is also
encouraged to see the holistic approach taken by the strategy to tackle
all sustainability matters, beyond climate change and social issues.
This includes planned extensions of the Taxonomy
regulation, further reporting requirements, as well
as the foreseen publication of a study on risks stemming from
biodiversity loss within the European financial system.
Mardi McBrien, Managing Director, CDSB said: “European
leadership on sustainable finance and corporate reporting is
welcomed as further actions to fight climate change, biodiversity loss
and rising inequalities become even more of a necessity while economies
recover from the COVID-19 crisis. As a global organisation and a member
of the IFRS Foundation technical readiness working group providing
observations to support the establishment of an International
Sustainability Standards Board, CDSB believes that global standards and
frameworks are needed and can accommodate different policy requirements
and objectives that jurisdictions are embracing in the race towards net
zero.”
Michael Zimonyi, Policy & External Affairs Director, CDSB said: “CDSB
will continue to engage in the shaping of Europe’s sustainable finance
agenda, three years after the first sustainable finance action plan. It
will be important to ensure that the different policy
initiatives, including reporting requirements can be applied in a
consistent way and reflected both within the sustainability but also the
financial reporting of companies, under the double materiality
approach.”
Ravi Aberwardana, Technical Director, CDSB said: “This
second strategy builds on some of CDSB’s thinking and work at the
moment, including on the reporting of climate within financial
statements using international financial reporting standards, the
coverage of the “S” in ESG within CDSB’s Framework and related reporting
on socially material financial issues, the focus on biodiversity and
natural capital loss beyond climate change and the reporting element of
the Taxonomy Regulation.”
About CDSB
The Climate
Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) is an international consortium of
business and environmental NGOs. We are committed to advancing and
aligning the global mainstream corporate reporting model to equate
natural and social capital with financial capital.
CDSB
© CDSB
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