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Prospects for global and EU ESG standards converging​

Day 1 Afternoon

Wednesday 14 April

Track :

ESG AND FINANCIAL POLICIES

Speakers

Chair
Carmine Di Noia
Commissioner - Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB)
Public Authorities
Ugo Bassi
Director, Financial Markets, DG FISMA - European Commission
Katharine Braddick
Director General, Financial Services - HM Treasury
Hester M. Peirce
Commissioner - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Tajinder Singh
Acting Secretary General - International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
Industry Representatives
Jessica Ground
Global Head of ESG - Capital Group
Daniel Hanna
Global Head, Sustainable Finance - Standard Chartered
Kay Swinburne
Chair of KPMG’s EMA FS Regulatory Insight Centre (RIC) and Partner - KPMG in the UK
Natalie Westerbarkey
Director & Head of EU Public Policy - Fidelity International

Objectives

Globally, there is a proliferation of ESG standards – often alluded to as non-financial information – resulting from multiple private or public initiatives. Such initiatives are fuelled in particular by the need to swiftly address climate related urgencies by appropriately channelling savings to sustainable investments, and symmetrically, the always increasing sensibility of investors regarding sustainable investments. 

However, despite the involvement of the G20, and remarkable although partial achievements such as the proposals of the Task force on Climate finance Disclosure, there is still no single definition of “sustainability”. In addition, the focus and approaches of these initiatives vary greatly. 

The session in this context is dedicated to outline the condition and priorities to leverage the increasing global political alignment  in order to make progress in the much needed Global and EU ESG standards convergence. 

Points of discussion

  1. What are the main needs and challenges, which are calling for more standardized, systematic, legible non-financial information, in the EU and globally? What are the practical prerequisites enabling the provision of sustainability disclosures?
  2. What are the flaws and weaknesses of the current non-financial reporting and the main areas to address to deliver consistent ESG frameworks?
  3. What are the main issues to address in order to make swift progress in developing consistent non-financial reporting standards globally?