Speaking at an international press conference held today, 25 July 2023, on the premises of the FSMA in Brussels, the Chairman of the International Organization of Securities Commissions, Jean-Paul Servais, announced that IOSCO has decided to endorse the first sustainability-related financial disclosure standards recently finalized by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The ISSB standards have been designed to provide investors with reliable information, helping companies to communicate how they identify and manage the sustainability-related risks and opportunities they face.
Emmanuel Faber, Chair of the ISSB, and Erkki Liikanen, Chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees, also took the floor to reflect on this landmark event, commensurate to the emergence of the IFRS accounting standards 20 years ago.
The assessment of the ISSB Standards by IOSCO follows up on an explicit request from the G20, the G7 and the Financial Stability Board (FSB). The latter bodies requested IOSCO, whose membership regulates more than 95% of the world's securities markets, to review the new ISSB Standards to determine whether they adequately meet the needs of investors and market participants for sustainability-related financial information.
IOSCO worked closely with the ISSB over the last two years, allowing for the completion of a comprehensive and independent review of the final version of the ISSB Standards. After conducting a detailed independent analysis, IOSCO has concluded that the ISSB Standards are appropriate to serve as a framework for capital markets to develop the use of sustainability-related financial information in both capital raising and trading transactions.
Further details can be found in the press release and video published today by IOSCO.
