The European Securities and Markets Authority published a second thematic note on sustainability-related claims, this time homing in on how firms describe ESG strategies in their communications. The focus is squarely on two of the most frequently used, and most inconsistently explained, terms in the market of ESG integration and ESG exclusions.
After months of pressure from companies grappling with the first wave of Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive disclosures, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has delivered a sweeping proposal to simplify the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, cutting back disclosure requirements while keeping the EU’s broader climate and sustainability ambitions intact.
Europe’s financial supervisors are taking another step toward embedding environmental, social, and governance risks into mainstream oversight, with the publication of new Joint Guidelines on ESG stress testing by the European Supervisory Authorities.
The Philippines' Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued Memorandum Circular No. 16, Series of 2025, adopting the Philippine Financial Reporting Standards on Sustainability Disclosures and setting out new reporting rules for publicly listed companies and large non-listed entities. The circular marks a decisive shift away from the country’s earlier, more limited sustainability reporting framework and brings its sustainability reporting regime into line with global practices.
China has taken another step toward formalizing how companies report on climate risk and impact, unveiling a new national standard designed to bring greater structure and consistency to corporate sustainability disclosures.
During Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2025, the UAE Sustainable Finance Working Group released its fourth statement, offering a clear signal that the country’s sustainable finance agenda is now moving beyond frameworks and into delivery. The update does not introduce a wholesale reset. Instead, it takes stock of what has already been built and focuses squarely on how those principles are beginning to shape real-world governance, disclosure, and financing decisions.
France’s competition authority has turned its attention to a growing tension at the heart of artificial intelligence. As AI systems scale across Europe, the energy and environmental costs of that expansion are becoming a competition issue in their own right.