The
new International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), due to
be unveiled ahead of the COP26 U.N. climate change conference in
Glasgow in November, aims to replace a patchwork of voluntary
guidance with a single set of global norms for firms reporting
the impact of climate change on their business.
The IFRS Foundation already oversees the International
Accounting Standards Board, which writes accounting rules used
in over 140 countries, and the SSB would be a parallel board.
Finance ministers from the G7 group of rich nations said on
Saturday there was a need for a "baseline global reporting
standard" for sustainability and they encouraged proposals
leading to the establishment of the ISSB ahead of COP26.
Heavyweight backing from the G7 and former central bankers like
Trichet will be critical to getting the new global board off the
ground at a time when the European Union is forging ahead with
its own set of rules.
The "eminent persons" group advising on the SSB will also
include Sheila Bair, former chair of the U.S. Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation.
Nandan Nilekani, chair and co-founder of IT consultants Infosys;
Guillermo Ortiz, former governor of the Bank of Mexico; and Min
Zhu, former deputy managing director of the international
monetary fund, are also members.
Last week the foundation called for nominations by the end of
June for chair and vice-chair for the ISSB.
Foundation trustee Lucrezia Reichlin told Reuters in April that
the new board aims to publish its first batch of sustainability
reporting standards by the middle of 2022.
(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Toby Chopra/Mark Heinrich)
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