Speakers
Objectives of the session
The financial sector has for years asked for a clarification and a simplification of the different reporting standards used in the world.
The European Commission has taken the lead in developing a framework of sustainable transparency for financial and non-financial firms, In April, EFRAG (European financial reporting advisory group), published its first sustainable standards for consultation, which cover not only climate, but also environment, biodiversity and circular economy. The Commission has created an International Platform with many non-EU partners.
More recently, the International Sustainable Standards Board (ISSB) was created by the IFRS Foundation at the Glasgow COP 25 with the objective to improve international convergence on sustainable standards. ISSB has published its first standards on climate for consultation in March.
In the United States, the SEC has also launched a consultation on proposed climate-related disclosure requirements.
The objective of the session is to assess the level of heterogeneity in sustainability reporting standards, understand the rationale which explain divergences and outline the subsequent impacts on the financial industry and the economy. On this basis possible policy options to improve the situation will be discussed.
Points of discussion
- How could be described the current state of development of sustainability reporting standards in different regions of the world and the divergences observed between the frameworks?
- What are the challenges faced by the financial sector and the economy in this context?
- How to address the challenges raised by differences in sustainability reporting standards? What could be the short- and longer-term priorities to attenuate the main consistency challenges observed?
- How SMEs should be better involved in the sustainable reporting exercise?