ASFI and Climate KIC are proud to be partnering with the support of the European Union through the European Union Climate Dialogues Project to present the European Union-Australia Sustainable Finance Dialogue, a series of technical workshops for the Australian finance and regulatory community to share expertise and experiences on the development and implementation of sustainable finance policy, including the EU taxonomy.

EU and Australia Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Dialogue

TAG Webinar

At this webinar held on 3 November 2022 the ASFI Taxonomy Technical Advisory Group (TAG) had the opportunity to hear from:

• Nadia Humphreys, who is the EU Platform for Sustainable Finance Data and Usability Sub-Group Co-Rapporteur. Nadia presented the key findings of the recently released Platform Recommendations on Data and Usability of the EU Taxonomy. ·

• Ali Erbilgiç, a Senior Policy Expert at the European Banking Authority on the EU supervisory reporting requirements and alignment of the taxonomy data with the EU’s Supervisory Data Strategy for Financial Services.

A summary of the webinar is available here. The full webinar recording and information presented at the webinar are available for TAG members via the TAG portal.

Regulator Roundtable Series

ASFI hosted a series of round tables in November 2022 and March 2023 with government and regulator officials from Australia and the European Union to facilitate dialogue and information exchange on the European Securities and Markets Authority ’s approach to disclosures and reporting of ESG risks, and on the purpose and development of the EU taxonomy, including key technical screening criteria, and the incorporation of the taxonomy into regulation. 

Public Webinar: Harnessing Technology for better sustainability disclosures

The sustainability reporting landscape is rapidly evolving as jurisdictions around the globe move towards mandatory disclosure. But do we have the data and reporting systems we need to enable this shift?

This public webinar explored challenges and opportunities associated with data and reporting systems for sustainability-related disclosure frameworks. Expert panelists from Australia, Singapore, and the European Union, showcased how leading jurisdictions are harnessing technology to support high quality disclosures that can improve financial decision-making.

Our guest speakers included:

• Zhaoqi Zhang​, Monetary Authority of Singapore

• Amir Ghandar​, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand

• David Bassett​, IFRS

• Richard Bössen​, EFRAG

• Andrea Giannini​, EFRAG

Please find a complete summary of the webinar here.

Sustainable Finance in Asia-Pacific - trends and opportunities for policymakers and private capital

ASFI held an EU-Australia Sustainable Finance Dialogue event “Sustainable Finance in the Asia Pacific – trends and opportunities for policy-makers and private capital” for ASFI members and others from across the finance sector and government on May 25 2023.

Speakers explored the state of sustainable finance in the Asia-Pacific, the barriers to private capital, and the tools to unlock it. Nick Burrough (Bloomberg) set the scene with data that showed that finance is flowing, but at a fraction of the scale required. Warren Tease (Commonwealth Treasury) and Linda Romanovska (EU Platform on Sustainable Finance) spoke to the power of taxonomies to direct finance and invest, and the challenges of reaching inter-operability between national frameworks. Ritesh Thakkar (Convergence Blended Finance) outlined the potential of blended finance to help where enabling environments – including sustainable finance policy – are not yet fully developed. And Kristin Tilley (Australia’s Climate Change Ambassador) underscored the Australian Government’s commitment to placing climate at the heart of its foreign policy, with mobilising private finance for the Asia-Pacific playing a key part in that.

A summary of the event is here. The webinar recording is available to our members via the member portal.