The Beat Goes On – Momentum for ISSB Sustainability Disclosure Standards Surges Worldwide While the U.S. Dithers

In June 2023, after an 18-month sprint, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) issued its inaugural global sustainability disclosure standards, IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, a comprehensive global baseline of sustainability-related financial disclosures to meet the needs of capital markets. A month later, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) endorsed the ISSB Standards and called on its 130 financial market members to consider ways in which they might “adopt, apply or otherwise be informed by” these standards in order to promote consistent and comparable climate and other sustainability-related disclosures for capital markets.