CARIBBEAN-LAC to benefit from new initiative involving IFRS Foundation

WASHINGTON, CMC—The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB Invest, and the IFRS Foundation formally partnered on Wednesday to promote the adoption and implementation of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

They said the agreement aims to accelerate the adoption of these standards in the region’s countries and guide the private sector in the implementation process. It launches an action plan with tools that include knowledge sharing, capacity building, and policy engagement.

The IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), provide a global baseline for the disclosure of sustainability-related risks and opportunities for capital markets, focusing on investor needs.

“The IFRS standards help issuers, investors, and regulators make informed decisions and align incentives. Transparency builds trust. This partnership is about accelerating the adoption process across the region and helping implement it,” said IDB President Ilan Goldfajn.

IFRS Foundation managing director Michel Madelain said public authorities across Latin America and the Caribbean have signaled their belief that IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards can help strengthen capital markets, enhancing transparency and understanding of sustainability-related risks and opportunities.

“Our partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank Group will deliver to these markets critical support to benefit from the full potential of effective sustainability-related disclosure in the region,” he said.

The IDB said that the partnership, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), comes at a pivotal moment of growing momentum around adopting the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards in Latin America and the Caribbean.

It focuses on three areas, namely knowledge sharing by developing a policy paper on the benefits of adoption, piloting a self-assessment tool for private banks, and producing a regional case study as well as capacity building that supporters regulators through the IDB and private institutions through IDB Invest to strengthen sustainability and climate-related risk disclosures.

The MoU also allows for advocacy and policy engagement, providing targeted technical assistance and policy dialogue to help countries adopt and implement the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.

“Through this collaboration, the IDB, IDB Invest, and the IFRS Foundation will work with public and private stakeholders to build capacity, address local needs, and promote regulatory alignment. The IDB is also aligning its disclosures with IFRS Standards through a multi-year roadmap,” the IDB added.