Minister Fleming welcomes the support of Irish firms for the global Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures

Over 30 Irish based firms have adopted the framework of the Financial Stability Board established Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). As part of Climate Finance Week Ireland 2021, Sustainable Finance Ireland announced the number of firms reporting under the framework has tripled during the first phase of the Irish TCFD campaign. Active in the energy, transport and forestry space, the new supporters include leading Irish semi-states such as ESB, CIE, Coillte and Bord na Mona, alongside several financial services sector firms. The campaign to increase the number of firms was a 2021 action measure under government’s Ireland for Finance Strategy and featured dedicated capacity building activities supported by the Sustainable Finance Skillnet.

Speaking during Climate Finance Week Ireland, Head of the TCFD and former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair 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.”

Climate Finance Week Ireland 2021 is organised by Sustainable Finance Ireland (SFI) with the Department of Finance. Sustainable finance is a priority for the Government through its latest Ireland for Finance Action plan (2021).

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 Ireland and features several 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 new Sustainable Finance Centre of Excellence planned as part of Ireland’s recently launched sustainable finance roadmap.”

With the TCFD framework increasingly a key reference point for action by global policy makers and regulators, phase two of Ireland’s TCFD campaign will work to increase supporter numbers, while widening access for firms to bespoke training programmes that support the development of inhouse talent.

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 Leadership award from Pat Cox, Ambassador Sustainable Finance Ireland and former President of the European Parliament in recognition of his climate leadership.

Media Contact: StoryLab, 01 685 3029

NOTES:
Irish organisations signed up to the TCFD include;
AIB, Amundi, Atlantic Bridge, BNP Paribas, BOI, Bord na Mona, Coillte, CIE, CRH, Davy, Department of Finance, Dublin Bus, Dunport Capital Management, ESB, Euronext Dublin, Glenveagh, Greencoat Renewables plc, Hibernia Reit, Irish Life Investment Managers, IPUT, Irish Rail, KBI Global Investors, NTR plc, 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, the Sustainable Finance Skillnet and Ireland’s TCFD campaign.

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.

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