Malaysia’s Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) has committed to incorporating the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) planned climate disclosure standards into its guidance to financial institutions. Co-chaired by Malaysia’s securities commission and central bank, JC3’s TCFD Application Guide was published in June 2022 to help banks, insurers, asset managers and institutional investors implement climate-related disclosures aligned with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The JC3 said the guide will be updated to take into account the new general sustainability-related and climate-related disclosure standards from the ISSB, due to be released during Q2 2023. “As the ISSB standards are aligned with TCFD recommendations, the Application Guide will continue to serve as a useful practical reference for financial institutions in Malaysia – particularly in supporting enhanced sustainability and climate-related disclosures,” the JC3 said. The JC3 also said implementation of Malaysia’s Climate Change and Principle-based Taxonomy (CCPT) is a key priority, but that it continues to observe “considerable variations in practice” in the classification of assets and investments by financial institutions. Last weekend, G7 central bankers and finance ministers said they “support” the ISSB’s standards-setting work, adding that they look forward to discussions with the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on “possible endorsement” of the standards, paving the way for adoption by national securities regulators.
