ESG

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has issued new supervisory guidance aimed at strengthening how financial institutions prepare for the economic transition associated with climate change. The regulator released three sets of Guidelines on Environmental Risk Management – Transition Planning, setting out expectations for banks, insurers, and asset managers on how to assess and manage climate-related risks within their business models and portfolios.

California Air Resources Board has approved a new regulation aimed at implementing two of the state’s landmark corporate climate disclosure laws, marking a significant step toward operationalizing climate-related reporting requirements for large companies doing business in California.

The UK government has formally released its finalized UK Sustainability Reporting Standards, a move that brings Britain into closer alignment with the global sustainability reporting baseline developed by the IFRS Foundation and its standard-setting arm, the International Sustainability Standards Board.

The European Commission’s push to simplify sustainability reporting is gaining institutional support, but not without caveats. Over the past week, both the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Banking Authority have backed efforts to streamline the European Sustainability Reporting Standards. At the same time, they have urged the Commission to tighten specific elements before the revised standards are locked in through a delegated act expected by summer 2026.

India’s securities regulator is revisiting the rules that govern how sustainability performance is measured and translated into market signals. The Securities and Exchange Board of India announced that it will review the regulatory framework applicable to ESG Rating Providers, a move that places the broader sustainability ratings architecture under examination rather than any single firm or methodology.

The International Organization for Standardization has now published ISO 14092:2026, a new International Standard focused specifically on climate change adaptation planning for local governments and communities. The standard replaces ISO/TS 14092:2020, upgrading what had been a Technical Specification into a full International Standard and incorporating technical revisions.

The first year of sustainability assurance under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive is now in the books in the Netherlands, and the country’s financial regulator says audit firms have made real strides, but the work is far from over.