PHOTO
Stock exchanges should make ESG disclosures mandatory, not voluntary, The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) vice chairman Heiba ElSerafi told delegates attending the World Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi.
According to ElSerafi, EGX has made ESG disclosures for listed companies mandatory.
Those companies valued at EGP500 million ($16 million) or more are also required to comply with requirements set down by G20 organisation Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), she said.
The Sustainable Stock Exchange (SSE) session, at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTDAD) forum, held in Abu Dhabi, also heard from Yianos Kontopoulus, CEO of Athens Stock Exchange, who said the number of Greek-listed companies making ESG disclosures had risen from 35 to 60 since 2019.
Abena Amoah, managing director of Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), said 45% of companies were making ESG disclosures, but that they were currently voluntary.
Alina Aldambergen, chairman of Kazhakzstan Stock Exchange, pointed out that as an oil and gas dependent country exploring coal production, the challenge was greater, but a growing number of companies are complying with ESG disclosures. Mikiko Takara, director, sustainability department at the Japan Exchange Group, said the exchange had launched a permanent carbon credit market last week.
David Harris, head of sustainable finance strategy, London Stock Exchange (LSE) said climate change and sustainability is reshaping industries. For example, power and utilities with the transition to LED lighting and the auto sector, where one electric vehicle manufacturer, Tesla, is worth the same as the rest of the auto sector put together.
“Industry after industry is transitioning, others are at an earlier stage, with immense investment opportunities as well as immense investment risks linked to this incredible industry change that we are living through,” he said.
The financial sector is reallocating capital at incredible scale, and it needs high quality data, he said, noting that pension funds are switching benchmarks due to climate change, whereas they would previously stick with the same benchmarks for decades.
(Reporting by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Seban Scaria)
