Australia’s government has issued a new consultation on its sustainable finance strategy to help the country attain its climate ambitions. The strategy includes plans to develop a fund-labelling regime for sustainable investment products and explore nature-related disclosures. The strategy’s policy priorities are structured in three key pillars, with each containing a range of proposed tools and policies. Pillar 1 aims to improve transparency on climate and sustainability, including establishing a framework for sustainability-related financial disclosures and developing a sustainable finance taxonomy. Pillar 2 targets the bolstering of financial system capabilities through enhancing market supervision and enforcement and ensuring regulatory frameworks are fit for purpose. Pillar 3 focuses on Australian government leadership and engagement, including the issuing of sovereign green bonds from mid-2024 and the promotion of international alignment. In a notice, the Treasury said the new sustainable finance strategy will support Australia’s pathway to net zero, by providing an “ambitious and comprehensive” framework for reducing barriers to investment into sustainable activities. Jim Chalmers, Treasurer of Australia, said: “We want to ensure that markets have access to high quality, credible and comparable information when it comes to climate and sustainability so that investors and companies have the confidence, clarity and certainty they need, and they are better able to manage climate‑related risks.”
The strategy includes plans to develop a fund-labelling regime for #sustainableinvestment products and explore nature-related disclosures.https://t.co/TUgOh0YjHU
— Regulation Asia (@RegulationAsia) November 3, 2023
