(9 July 2018, London) The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) brought together a group of regulators, stock exchanges, investors, issuers, financial services providers, civil society and international organizations to discuss the role securities regulators have in encouraging sustainable investment. The UN SSE initiative was the only United Nations representative present at the dialogue, and presented their work stream on capital market regulation and the SDGs.
Convened by the IOSCO Growth and Emerging Markets Committee, the dialogue aimed to bring clarity to the committee’s work examining sustainable finance as part of its overall focus in analyzing the role of securities markets in capital raising and sustainability issues. The committee looked to participants to provide insight on imperatives needed to develop the appropriate ecosystem for sustainable financing in capital markets.
Chaired by IOSCO Board Member, and Director General of Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority Erik Thedéen, and IOSCO Deputy Secretary General Tajinder Singh, speakers of the three sessions included Mary Schapiro (SASB Vice Chair and former commissioner of the United States SEC), Kaushik Chatterjee (Tata Steel Executive Director and CFO), Michael Wilkins (S&P Global Ratings Managing Director) and Euan Sterling (Aberdeen Standard Investments Global Head of Stewardship and ESG Investment).
“Securities regulators have a responsibility to ensure that risks are appropriately evaluated, which includes climate,” said Mary Schapiro. “A framework needs to be adopted, disclosure needs to be made, and we don’t have forever for this to happen,” she added.
“We are having a very active dialogue within IOSCO on sustainability,” said Tajinder Singh, adding that the Madrid-based international organization is also in the process of creating a sustainability committee.
Bloomberg hosted the dialogue in its new European Headquarters in London, rated the world’s most sustainable office building design. Bloomberg’s Global Head of Sustainable Business and Finance, Curtis Ravenel, called for all participants to continue to support Bloomberg and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The TCFD developed voluntary climate-related financial disclosures that are consistent, comparable, reliable, clear, and efficient, and provide decision-useful information to lenders, insurers and investors. To find out how you can support the TCFD, click here.
The SSE’s engagement with capital market regulators aims to facilitate the sharing of experiences between countries on mechanisms to improve the availability and quality of corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) information and related sustainable finance mechanisms including green bonds and ESG themed equity indices. The SSE’s work in this area includes participation in related IOSCO discussions and engagement with an Advisory Group of 74 members from 31 countries. The advisory group is currently reviewing a draft report designed to share experiences among capital market authorities in supporting the SDGs. The final report will be launched at the SSE Global Dialogue on 23 October 2018 in Geneva, as part of the UNCTAD World Investment Forum.
