The International Organization for Standardization has circulated a proposal for a new field of activity for new ISO standard, Green Finance: Assessment of Green Financial Projects. As the U.S. member body to ISO, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) invites all relevant stakeholders to submit comments on the proposal by close of business August 4.
The proposal, submitted by the Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China describes green finance as a type of financing of investments which provides benefits in the broader context of reduction of air, water and land pollution, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and improved energy efficiency while utilizing natural resources and their co-benefits. Green finance also has the potential to facilitate the growth of high-potential green industries, promote technological innovation, and create business opportunities for the financial industry.
While the green finance market has experienced recent rapid growth, the development of finance faces challenges, which include:
- No universally accepted definition of green financial activities at an international, country, or market level.
- No common guidelines for assessing green financial projects before investment decisions.
Interested stakeholders are encouraged to review the proposal, which includes a listing of relevant existing documents at the international, regional, and national levels, and stakeholder categories that may benefit from the proposal.
Comments are to be submitted to ANSI Senior Director of International Policy Steve Cornish scornish@ansi.org.
Based on the input received, the ANSI ISO Council will then be asked to approve an ANSI position and submit comments to ISO before its September 12 deadline.