IOSCO Calls on Regulators to Incorporate New IFRS Sustainability Reporting Standards
IOSCO, the leading international policy forum and standards setter for securities regulators, announced today its official endorsement of the new IFRS sustainability and climate-related disclosure standards, in a move it called a “major step towards consistent, comparable and reliable sustainability information.”
With the endorsement, IOSCO said that it is now calling on its 130 member jurisdictions, which together regulate more than 95% of global financial markets, to consider the incorporation of the new standards into their regulatory frameworks.
Jean-Paul Servais, Chair of the Board of IOSCO, said:
“At the beginning of my mandate as Chairman, I said IOSCO would meet expectations because the delivery of high quality standards in due time is of the essence when it comes to sustainability. Today, with the publication of the endorsement decision, I am honoured to say we did just that.”
The endorsement follows the publication last month by the IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) of its new global standards for sustainability and climate reporting, IFRS S1 and IFRS S2.
IOSCO had signaled its support for the ISSB project early on, and in early 2021 launched a Technical Expert Group (TEG) to work closely with the ISSB and to assess its technical recommendations, including whether the it could be a sound basis for the development of an international reporting standard.
In its statement announcing its endorsement, IOSCO said that it has determined that the standards “are appropriate to serve as a global framework for capital markets to develop the use of sustainability-related financial information.”
Calling today’s announcement “an important milestone, Rodrigo Buenaventura, Chair of IOSCO’s Sustainable Finance Task Force, said that the endorsement “will result in global capital markets being able to access reliable, consistent and comparable sustainability related information which will allow investors to price sustainability risks and opportunities and help them make investment decisions.”
Alongside IOSCO’s endorsement, the IFRS Foundation announced the publication of an outline of its upcoming Adoption Guide for regulators, planned for release later this year, outlining the mechanisms it is developing to support regulatory implementation of the new standards.
ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber said:
“Widespread regulatory adoption of a global baseline of sustainability-related disclosures through the ISSB Standards will secure the consistency and comparability of information that capital markets demand. IOSCO’s timely endorsement and strong encouragement for capital market authorities to act confirms that the ISSB Standards are fit for purpose.”