To combat greenwashing, we have to think like John and Mary on the street, who are increasingly interested in sustainable investing but not in the politics of it, according to Jean-Paul Servais, IOSCO chair, IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board chair and chair of the Belgium Financial Services and Markets Authority.
Speaking at an event at COP27 on how regulation can facilitate climate finance, Servais said the tightening up of sustainable finance when it comes to things such as labelling, is welcome.
“It is good news that Morningstar dropped [1,200 sustainable funds tags last year] but it’s bad news if they, and their competitors, have to do it every week,” he said.
He added, similarly, most products in Belgium are not green-aligned but that is a good thing in order to prevent greenwashing.
Speaking to ESG Clarity after the event, Servais reiterated this point, and added he believes one year on from COP26, where the ISSB was formed, the initiative has been a success.
Now it’s time to be helpful to country jurisdictions who are doing excellent work on sustainable finance, he says in the video interview above.
See also: – All ESG Clarity’s COP27 coverage
IOSCO has made several announcements at COP27 so far, including a call to action of good practice by the industry and a consultation on compliance carbon markets and for enhancing the resilience and integrity of voluntary carbon markets.
