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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) launched the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance (the “Singapore-Asia Taxonomy”) at the COP28 climate conference on 3 December 2023. This development is noteworthy as the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy is the world’s first multi-sector transition taxonomy for defining green and transition activities across eight key sectors, namely: (1) energy; (2) industrial; (3) carbon capture and sequestration; (4) agriculture and forestry; (5) construction and real estate; (6) waste and circular economy; (7) information and communications technology; and (8) transportation. The Singapore-Asia Taxonomy uses the traffic lights system of “green” (environmentally sustainable), “amber” (transition) and “ineligible” to classify activities based on their contribution to the taxonomy’s environmental objectives, currently focused on climate change mitigation. We previously reported on the work leading up to the finalisation of the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy here and here.Continue Reading Singapore Launches World’s First Multi-Sector Transition Taxonomy

Singapore

On July 28, 2022, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the “MAS“) published a circular (the “Circular”) on new disclosure and reporting guidelines for retail ESG funds in Singapore. The Circular was published alongside a Sustainability Report 2021/2022 issued by MAS and coincides with the issuance of Singapore’s first green bond (which was…

Singapore

In a further effort to help listed companies align their ESG-related disclosures in line with other international standards and best practices, and to build on ESG reporting landscape in Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) have identified 12 technical skills and competencies for professionals within the sustainable finance sector.

The Sustainable Finance Technical Skills and Competencies (SF TSCs) are part of the IBF Skills Framework for Financial Services which seeks to provide vital information to upskill and train current and incoming talent within banks, asset management and insurance sectors to strengthen their sustainability-related offerings and services.Continue Reading Singapore Seeks to Bolster Skillset for its Sustainable Finance Professionals

Singapore

On May 19th, 2021, Singapore’s Green Finance Industry Task Force (GFIT), an industry-led initiative convened by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), issued a detailed implementation guide for climate-related disclosures by financial institutions (FIs) and a whitepaper on scaling green finance in the real estate, infrastructure, fund management and transition sectors. In addition, the GFIT has established a framework to help banks assess eligible green trade finance transactions and will launch a series of ESG-related capacity building workshops and e-learning modules from May 2021 to April 2022 for FIs and corporates.

In an announcement, Ms. Gillian Tan, Assistant Managing Director (Development and International) at the MAS, said:

“GFIT’s initiatives to enhance climate-related disclosures and strengthen green capabilities will enable financial institutions to effectively develop green solutions and align their portfolios towards facilitating Asia’s transition to a low carbon economy. These initiatives will also contribute to global efforts to achieve greater consistency and comparability in climate-related disclosures, as well as provide investors and market participants with the necessary information for climate risk analysis and investment decision-making.”

Continue reading for more details on each of these significant new developments.Continue Reading Singapore Financial Regulator Announces Initiatives on Climate Disclosures, ESG Capacity Building and More

Singapore

On December 8, 2020, the Monetary Authority of Singapore issued Guidelines on Environmental Risk Management tailored to financial institutions  in three sectors: asset management, banking and insurance. The Guidelines are intended to drive the transition to an environmentally sustainable economy by enhancing the integration of environmental risk considerations in financing and investment decisions and promoting…