This month includes news from ASE, CSE, NASDAQ and more. Monthly news highlights are compiled by the SSE to give an overview of the capital markets' sustainability news from that month. You can subscribe to our monthly news highlights by clicking here. SSE INITIATIVE NEWS & EVENTS  Role of exchanges in fight against modern slavery and human trafficking 5 December 2022 29 November 2022 - As part of the “FAST: Convening Africa” conference hosted by Finance Against Slavery & Trafficking (FAST) in Cape Town on 29-30 November 2022, UNSSE Senior Specialist Corli le Roux moderated a panel discussion to explore the role of exchanges in the fight against modern slavery and human trafficking. China SIF: The 2022 Sustainable Stock Exchange Roundtable co-hosted by UN SSE 9 December 2022 The 2022 Sustainable Stock Exchange Roundtable took place on 9 Dec 2022 as part of the 10th annual China Sustainable Investment Forum that brought together domestic and international policymakers, standard setters, asset managers, financial intermediaries, as well as corporate and academic representatives to provide participants with latest development and insights. IFC, CDP, SSE launch new report on environmental disclosure policies 12 December 2022 IFC (a member of the World Bank Group) and CDP (a not for profit which runs a global environmental disclosure system) released a report analyzing the current state of best practices in environmental disclosure, examining more than 100 disclosure practices across developed and developing economies.  Lanzamiento del análisis de la igualdad de género en los directorios corporativos latinoamericanos 13 December 2022 El dia 13 de diciembre a las 9:00 hora de Panamá / 11:00 hora de Brasil / 3:00 hora de Ginebra, la UN SSE en colaboración con IFC, miembro del Grupo Banco Mundial, la Federación Iberoamericana de Bolsas y ONU Mujeres publicaron un análisis de la igualdad de género en los directorios corporativos latinoamericanos para medir el progreso en los mercados de América Latina. SSE, IFC, UN Women launch two benchmarks on gender equality in corporate leadership 15 December 2022 On the 14th of December 2022, the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative (UN SSE) in partnership with IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and UN Women launched two reports on gender equality in leadership as part of the SSE’s Q4 2022 Quarterly Webinars SSE supports MSX’s efforts in promoting ESG best practices 16 January 2023 On the 20th of December 2022, the UN SSE initiative was invited to address the signing ceremony where the Muscat Stock Exchange signed three memorandums of understanding (MOU) with three of its local sustainability partners: the Ministry of Social Development (MOSD), the Environment Authority (EA), and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MOCI). EXCHANGE NEWS The UN Global Compact honors the Amman Stock Exchange for its role in spreading the culture of sustainability in the national capital market 7 December 2022 The Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) represented by the CEO of the ASE Mr. Mazen Wathaifi participated in a symposium held by the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) entitled "Building and advancing the sustainability Journey for Companies”. Nasdaq named to Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the seventh consecutive year 16 December Nasdaq has been named for the seventh consecutive year to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). Nasdaq maintains its industry leadership as one of just eight diversified financial services companies selected for inclusion in the 2022 North America Index. CSE encourages ESG reporting 18 December 2022 "The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) encourages listed companies to measure and publicly report their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and impact" said Chief Executive Officer Rajeeva Bandaranaike. Bolsa de Santiago recibe el sello de “Cuantificación de Gases de Efecto del Invernadero (GEI)”, del Programa HuellaChile del Ministerio del Medio Ambiente  22 December 2022 Bolsa de Santiago received the label “Cuantificación de Gases de Efecto del Invernadero (GEI)” for the fourth consecutive year from the Chilean Environment Ministry Gulf exchanges announce unified ESG metrics for GCC listed companies 9 January 2023 On January 9, the Gulf Cooperation Council Exchanges Committee, chaired by the Saudi Exchange, published a unified set of ESG Disclosure metrics. The committee includes Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Bahrain Bourse, Boursa Kuwait, Qatar Stock Exchange, Muscat Stock Exchange, Saudi Exchange and Dubai Financial Market. Euronext volunteers provide e-mentoring and webinars on financial literacy and the blue economy 18 January 2023 On the 18th January, speakers from Euronext gave a webinar on financial literacy as part of the “The Blue Challenge”, an entrepreneurship education programme, launched by Euronext in partnership with JA Europe. The programme aims to inspire students aged 16 to 18 about sustainable finance and help them develop core competencies such as teamwork, problem-solving and entrepreneurial skills. REGULATOR AND STANDARD SETTER NEWS ESG and Climate Trends to Watch for 2023 7 December 2022 MSCI published a new report on ESG Climate trends which takes a closer look at how some of the major developments may shape the investment environment and impact the challenges and opportunities for companies. PRI supports progress on IFRS Sustainability Standards 7 January 2023 This PRI statement supports efforts by the IFRS Foundation and IOSCO to develop a globally shared baseline for reporting on sustainability-related financial information, encourages continued work towards this objective and calls for interoperability between the future IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards and jurisdictional initiatives. Launch of NZIA Target-Setting Protocol Version 1.0 17 January 2023 Davos, 17 January 2023 – The United Nations-convened Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) today launched the Alliance’s first Target-Setting Protocol at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Finance sector: New guidance on science-based targets and TCFD reporting 18 January 2023 The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has launched new guidance to support investors in identifying the overlaps and complementary nature of the SBTi Financial Institutions framework and Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations. The United Nations for Climate Change published its COP27 event report 18 January 2023 For the second consecutive year, the UN Climate Change Global Innovation on Hub (UGIH) successfully concluded its dialogues on transformative innovation at COP27 held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt between 7 November and 18 November 2022. During the two weeks, the UGIH hosted a total of 85 sessions.  Cómo los Bancos de América Latina y el Caribe se Adaptan al Cambio Climático 19 January 2023 Este reporte sobre Cómo los bancos de América Latina y el Caribe se adaptan al cambio climático es un suplemento regional del reporte Adaptándose a un nuevo clima publicado en noviembre de 2022. Ha sido desarrollado por UNEP FI y la CAF – Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina, en colaboración con la Federación Latinoamericana de Bancos (FELABAN), la Asociación Latinoamericana de Instituciones Financieras para el Desarrollo (ALIDE) y la Universidad Finis Terrae. ESMA issues its first opinion on the draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards 26 January 2023 The European Securities and Markets Authority, the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has issued an opinion on the first set of draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS Set 1) developed by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). ESMA finds that ESRS Set 1 broadly meets the objective of being conducive to investor protection and of not undermining financial stability. ESG INDICES AND PRODUCTS Borsa İstanbul launched Futures Contracts Based on BIST Sustainability 25 Index in Derivatives Market 13 January 2023 Thanks to the futures contracts based on the BIST Sustainability 25 Index, which includes the shares of companies with high sustainability performance and traded on Borsa İstanbul, investors have a new financial product that will provide them to distinguish companies that adopt sustainability and corporate social responsibility principles and to invest in these companies. Africa Plus Partners lists carbon mitigation fund on NGX 24 January 2023 Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) is pleased to announce the listing of Africa Infra Plus Fund (AIPF I), a 20.5bn closed-end infrastructure fund, on the Exchange, on Tuesday, 24 January 2023 commemorated with a Closing Gong Ceremony. Co-managed by Africa Plus Partners Plc, and Capital trust Investments & Asset Management Limited, AIPF 1 is Nigeria’s first Carbon+ (ESG-focused) naira-denominated infrastructure fund to be listed on the Exchange. GENDER EQUALITY PSX Becomes Signatory of Women’s Empowerment Principles 10 January 2023 In a positive move forward signifying Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) efforts to promote increased women participation, gender equality and adopting gender-responsive policies, PSX has become a signatory of Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). The Women in Islamic & Ethical Finance Forum held a new online event 19 January 2023 Anthony Miller, coordinator of the UN SSE initiative, was invited at the Women in Islamic & Ethical Finance Forum on the following topic: “The UK as a Leading Islamic Finance Hub - International Collaboration.” Euronext has joined the gender equality indices family 23 January 2023 Entering the Euronext Equileap Eurozone 100 and the Euronext Equileap Gender Equality France 40 underlines Euronext’s progress towards gender balance, as it promotes diversity and inclusion on an organizational level.