The World Council of Credit Unions (Woccu) has published a guide to help credit unions navigate the emerging regulatory frameworks and international standards for finance when it comes to climate and sustainability.
The guide looks at how global frameworks have been updated on climate change and sustainability, and how international standard setters are addressing climate change through guidance and regulation.
It also looks at the need for global standards setters to require proportionality in regulation at national level – a longstanding priority for Woccu and the credit union movement.
“The past few years have dictated the need for flexibility in all areas of our lives,” said Panya Monford, Woccu’s assistant general counsel of international advocacy, “and the need to adapt holds equally true for the regulatory landscape. Credit unions must be ready to undertake new sustainable finance requirements, while finding new and innovative ways to support climate resilience.”
The guide also looks at the role played in sustainable finance regulation by leading authorities such as the Basel Committee, the International Accounting Standards Board, the G20, the European Commission, the Financial Stability Board, and the European Securities Market Authority.
While it warns that all aspects of a credit union’s operations are being transformed by developments in sustainable finance and climate change regulations, it adds that “the opportunities are endless for credit unions to be the catalyst for responsible change while addressing sustainable finance and climate issues”.
But Woccu is still urging policymakers to ensure that regulatory frameworks reflect the specificity of credit unions as credit co-operatives.
The full guide is available on Woccu’s website.
