Press release
Minister Fleming welcomes the support of Irish firms for the global Task Force on Climate-related disclosures
Published on
Last updated on
Published on
Last updated on
Over 30 Irish based firms have adopted the framework of the Financial Stability Board Task Force on Climate-related disclosures (TCFD). As part of Climate Finance Week 2021, Sustainable Finance Ireland announced the number of firms reporting under the framework has tripled during the first phase of the TCFD campaign. The new supporters include leading Irish semi-states such as ESB, CIE, Coilte and Bord na Mona. The campaign to increase the number of firms was an action measure under the Ireland for Finance Strategy and featured dedicated training supported by Sustainable Finance Skillnet and delivered by the United Nations Environment Programme, Finance Initiative.
Speaking during Climate Finance Week, Head of the TCFD and former SEC Commissioner Mary Schapiro said
"I welcome the launch of the Irish TCFD Collective to help drive TCFD support and implementation in Ireland. It can’t be overstated how important consortia like these are to the Task Force’s mission. The work the Irish TCFD Collective has already done to educate financial actors, industries and companies about the TCFD through trainings and webinars has made a significant impact."
The TCFD was established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) in 2015 and developed a set of recommendations for voluntary and consistent climate-related financial risk disclosures. The recommendations enable companies to communicate information in a consistent way to investors, lenders, insurers, and other stakeholders. The recommendations now have 2600+ supporter in 89 countries.
Minister of State for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance Sean Fleming TD welcomed the results of the campaign;
“The increase in the use of the TCFD framework is a strong endorsement of the campaign by Sustainable Finance and features some leading Irish corporates from both the public and the private sector. The training provided under the Skillnet is exactly the kind of capacity building that will be possible under the Sustainable Finance Centre of Excellence planned as part of the new roadmap.”
Under phase two of the campaign Sustainable Finance Ireland will continue to work on raising awareness of the TCFD and providing education for firms on how to disclose climate-related risks and the opportunities that arise from using the framework.
The Irish TCFD campaign is strongly aligned to the private finance strategy of November’s pivotal United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which along with Reporting focuses on Risk Management, Returns and Mobilisation.
CEO of CIÉ– Lorcan O’Connor said:
"As the largest transport provider in Ireland, the CIÉ Group plays a critical role in reducing emissions in the transport sector. Our support of the TCFD demonstrates our commitment to playing a part in delivering a low carbon economy and is aligned with our strategy to address the climate challenge. We are proud to support the Irish TCFD collective and look forward to working with Sustainable Finance Ireland during phase two of the TCFD campaign."
During Climate Finance Week, Michael Bloomberg, Chair of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and Founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies, accepted the annual Climate Finance Week Ireland Climate Leadership award from Pat Cox, Ambassador Sustainable Finance Ireland in recognition of his climate leadership.
NOTES:
The Irish organisations supporting TCFD include;
AIB, Amundi, Atlantic Bridge, BnP Paribas, BOI, Bord na Mona, Coillte, CRH, Davy, Dept of Finance, Dublin Bus, Dunport Capital Management, ESB, Euronext, Glenveagh, Greencoat Capital, Hibernia Reit, ILIM, IPUT, Irish Rail, KBI, NTR, PTSB, Setanta Asset Management, Shannon Group, Smurfit Kappa, Sustainable Finance Ireland
About Sustainable Finance Ireland
A public-private initiative, Sustainable Finance Ireland works to position and promote Ireland as a leader in sustainable finance. It achieves this by providing thought leadership, raising awareness on excellence and best practice, building capacity in the sector, and catalysing innovation with supportive frameworks and tools. All activities are aligned with government’s Ireland for Finance strategy and annual action plans, including the annual Climate Finance Week Ireland series and the Sustainable Finance Skillnet.
About Climate Finance Week Ireland
An output of the Ireland for Finance annual Action Plan, Climate Finance Week Ireland is now in its fourth year. In 2020, CWFI attracted over 5,000 virtual attendees and gained 5.5 million social media impressions. CFWI 2021 is organised by Sustainable Finance Ireland, co-hosted with the Department of Finance and sponsored by AIB.
About the Ireland for Finance strategy
Ireland for Finance is a strategic framework to support the further development of the international financial services sector in Ireland to 2025. A government document, the vision of the strategy is for Ireland to be a top-tier location of choice for specialist international financial services and to enhance and protect future Irish competitiveness. The framework consists of four Pillars and three Horizontal Priorities. Pillars focus on the operating environment; technology and innovation; talent; and communications and promotion. The three horizontal Priorities that apply across the four Pillars are: Regionalisation, Diversity, and Sustainable Finance.