29 Сентябрь 2021 Peiying Chua Heikes Financial Regulation

MAS’ Keynote Speech on Green Finance

September 2021

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) has outlined in its recent speech key environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) initiatives that aim to (i) improve the quality, availability, and comparability of climate-related data; (ii) develop compatible definitions or taxonomies for green and transition activities; and (iii) implement a consistent set of global standards for disclosures and reporting:

Project Greenprint – MAS is working with financial institutions to mobilise capital for green projects in selected sectors such as construction, agriculture, and maritime, facilitate the acquisition and certification of climate-relevant data from these projects, monitor their commitments to emissions reductions and quantify the impact of the projects’ abatement efforts.

The Green Finance Industry Taskforce (“GFIT”) is fleshing out its proposed taxonomy for green and transition activities. It has issued for consultation a proposed “traffic light” system to classify sustainable activities as green, transition activities as yellow, and unsustainable activities as red. GFIT is now working to develop more granular criteria, including metrics and thresholds, to help operationalise the classification system.

MAS is working with its counterparts in the region to develop an ASEAN taxonomy for sustainable finance that coordinates efforts across the banking, insurance and capital markets sectors.

MAS is contributing to the work of the International Platform on Sustainable Finance to develop a “common ground taxonomy” that will enhance transparency by highlighting commonalities across different existing taxonomies.

MAS and Singapore Exchange (“SGX”) are setting out roadmaps for mandatory climate-related financial disclosures by financial institutions and listed entities respectively.

  • SGX has issued for consultation a proposed roadmap to introduce mandatory climate-related disclosures consistent with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) recommendations for listed entities, starting with sectors most exposed to climate-related risks.
  • MAS will consult the industry later this year on mandatory climate-related disclosures by financial institutions. While all banks, insurers and asset managers are expected to make climate-related disclosures from 2022, MAS’ consultation will focus on how to transition these expectations into mandatory requirements.

MAS will set out early next year its regulatory expectations on the disclosure standards that retail funds in Singapore with an ESG investment objective must meet.

  • With the enhanced disclosure in place, investors will be able to better understand the criteria that an ESG fund uses to select its investments.
  • Investors will also obtain from a single offering document more information on the fund’s investment process, as well as the risks and limitations associated with the fund’s ESG strategy.
  • Investors will also receive periodic updates on whether the investment objective of an ESG fund has been met.

MAS has been working to anchor centres of excellence for training and research on green finance with an Asian focus, with two such centres already based here – the Singapore Green Finance Centre and the Sustainable Finance Institute Asia, with another on its way.

The National University of Singapore will be establishing by the end of this year the Sustainable and Green Finance Institute, or SGFIN.

  • SGFIN will help groom a pipeline of talent and leadership in sustainable and green finance across the career spectrum.
  • It will help equip companies with the multi-disciplinary knowledge necessary to integrate sustainability considerations into their business strategies and investment decisions, and quantify their environmental and social performance.