Nearly 500 organisations, including associations gathering over 10,000 member companies and investors, have committed to advancing the adoption or use of the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) climate-related reporting at a global level.
The 140 companies from 64 jurisdictions, and representing $120trn in assets, have signed the statement of support for ISSB on Finance Day at COP28.
Launched earlier this year, the first two ISSB Standards were endorsed by IOSCO and, according to ISSB, the declaration of support marks the next phase of implementation and demonstrates the strong support to advance action-oriented responses to limit the risk of climate change.
Responding to the declaration at COP28, Emmanuel Faber (pictured), ISSB chair, said: “Signatories to this declaration represent organisations of all sizes from every continent. We recognise this as a signal of the urgency behind our work and confirmation that the ISSB Standards can deliver a vital global solution in the need for better information about the risks posed by climate.
“Market participants have consistently told us through consultation they need global sustainability disclosure standards that are proportionate and scalable. The ISSB Standards provide this and with the support of organisations around the world we will work to build the market infrastructure and capacity building necessary to implement the standards worldwide. The launch of our knowledge hub that provides content to support the implementation of the ISSB Standards is an important step forward in this work.”
Regulators and standard setters from ASEAN, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, the European Union, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, Japan, Kenya, Mauritius, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, the Philippines, Singapore, Turkey, the UK, Uruguay and Vietnam have also welcomed the work of the ISSB, as jurisdictions around the world start considering how they may incorporate the ISSB Standards into their regulatory frameworks.
The ISSB’s key partners in the sustainability disclosure landscape including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), CDP and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) also reaffirmed their support for the work of the ISSB. Additionally, to reduce market fragmentation in the sustainability disclosure landscape, the ISSB said that it will continue to work closely with these partners.
