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Global rules on foreign direct investment (FDI)
Cross-border acquisitions and investments increasingly trigger foreign direct investment (FDI) screening requirements.
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Australia | Publication | November 2020
Introduction
The Institute for International Finance (IIF) has established a private-sector Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (Taskforce). The Taskforce brings together experts from across the carbon markets value-chain, from over 20 sectors of the economy and 6 continents.
Since forming, the Taskforce has been working on developing a roadmap to build the market infrastructure necessary for a fully functional voluntary carbon market. The proposed roadmap has been published in a Consultation Document (Consultation Document) and the recommendations in the Consultation Document are intended to outline the infrastructure solutions required to achieve the large-scale voluntary carbon markets which will be necessary for the private sector to achieve “net zero” targets.
The Taskforce’s work will complement other global private-sector taskforces that have been established to ease private-sector transition to a low-carbon economy while managing the associated financial risks.
One such private-sector taskforce is the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).1 The TCFD was established by the Financial Stability Board in 2015 and is made up of 32 members from private-sector organisations across G20 economies. The TCFD aims to identify the information needed by investors, lenders, and insurance underwriters to appropriately assess climate change, and price climate-related risks and opportunities. For more detail on the TCFD see our previous article which discusses the TCFD’s recommendations for effective disclosure.
Another noteworthy private-sector taskforce is the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosure (TNFD) which is in the early stages of launch.2 The TNFD recognises that global carbon emissions are not the only source of climate financial risks, and focusses on the relationship between finance, nature and biodiversity. The TNFD aims to redirect financial flows towards nature-positive investment, building economic resilience to future changes in the natural environment. At this stage the TNFD has established an Informal Working Group consisting of financial institutions, private firms, government bodies and think tanks. The TNFD’s scope, governance, plan and team will be announced in January 2021.
Voluntary carbon markets enable organisations to offset their emissions outside any mandated scheme. It is projected that there will need to be a 15-fold increase in demand for voluntary offsets by 2030 in order to support the investment necessary to achieve a 1.5ºC pathway.3 To assist with meeting this future demand, the Taskforce was launched in September by the IIF, a trade association for the global financial services industry. The Taskforce is led by voluntary carbon market stakeholders including suppliers and purchasers of offsets, and providers of market infrastructure.
The goal of the Taskforce is to deliver a ‘blueprint’ for the future of the voluntary carbon market, with a focus on scaling to meet growing demand. The Taskforce is guided by four key principles:
On November 10, 2020 the Taskforce published a Consultation Document which indicates what can be expected from the final ‘blueprint’.
The Consultation Document highlights six topics for action:
The consultation period for the Consultation Document runs from November 10 to December 10, 2020. Responses can be made through the Taskforce website. The final ‘blueprint’ containing targeted recommendations for different stakeholder groups is expected to be released in January 2021.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of this update or gain a greater appreciation of Australia’s carbon market, please contact a member of our climate change and sustainability team.
This article was co-authored with Sebastian Withers.
Read more about the TCFD at https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/
Read more about the TNFD at https://tnfd.info/
Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets, ‘Consultation Document’ (Publication, 10 November 2020), page 7.
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Cross-border acquisitions and investments increasingly trigger foreign direct investment (FDI) screening requirements.
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