1. Taiwan to align with IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards to enhance the quality and transparency of sustainability information
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) under the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation issued its IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, IFRS S1 "General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information" ("IFRS S1") and IFRS S2 "Climate-related Disclosures" ("IFRS S2") on 26 June 2023. IFRS S1  emphasizes the connection between sustainability Ainformation and financial statements (including the requirement that the reporting entity, materiality criteria, and major assumptions used in preparing sustainability information shall be consistent with those used in preparing the related financial statements) and requires an entity to report its sustainability information at the same time as its related financial statements, so that the disclosed information is useful to investors when making investment decisions based on an overall assessment of the entity's enterprise value. IFRS S2 integrates relevant recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and strengthens disclosures about an entity's climate-related transition plan, climate resilience, and greenhouse gas emissions, while including industry-specific metrics to be disclosed. These Sustainability Disclosure Standards provide a globally consistent disclosure framework that will improve the comparability of sustainability information and prevent "greenwashing." The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has on many occasions expressed its support for the ISSB's work in developing a sustainability disclosure framework for globally consistent application and has been urging its members to adopt the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. As a member of IOSCO, Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) will promote these IFRS standards based on reference to IOSCO recommendations and international practices.
The FSC has previously issued the "Sustainable Development Action Plans for TWSE and TPEx Listed Companies" to actively promote the disclosure of sustainability information. To further align with international standards and to provide investors with reliable sustainability information, the FSC will, with reference to Taiwan's past experiences in promoting IFRS Accounting Standards, establish a taskforce to undertake translation of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, analysis of differences compared to current sustainability reporting requirements, and development of best practices and related guidance for reference by the public.
The FSC indicated that a phase-in approach will be taken for enterprises to adopt the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards in preparing their sustainability information. Initially, the listed companies with capital over NT$10 billion will be required to prepare sustainability information starting from 2026 and publicly disclose such information starting from 2027.