ESG News Round-up

MITI to launch National Industry ESG framework by September

The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) targets to launch the National Industry Environmental, Social and Governance framework (i-ESG) framework for the manufacturing sector by September.

Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the framework comprises four key components that include standards, financial support and incentives, capacity building and market mechanisms.

"What we are looking to do is also to promote and nurture green manufacturing. Note that green businesses in Southeast Asia present up to an estimated USD200b opportunity by 2030," he said at the Second Malaysian Banking Conference yesterday. ─ New Straits Times

ISSB rules aim to clamp down on corporate greenwashing

Companies will face more pressure to disclose how climate change affects their business under a new set of G20-backed global rules aimed at helping regulators crack down on greenwashing.

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) chair Emmanuel Faber said it would be up to individual countries to decide whether to require listed companies to apply the standards, which were written by the ISSB. ─ Reuters

New scheme to digitalise Singapore SMEs’ ESG credentials

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) are collaborating on an initiative to develop digital ESG credentials for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) globally.

The initiative, known as Project Savannah, targets the lowering of barriers faced by SMEs in building sustainability capabilities by establishing a common framework of ESG metrics. ─ Regulation Asia

Talk of no new oil investments ‘will only lead to energy chaos’

Talk of no new investments in oil projects “will only lead to energy chaos”, at a time when the world needs clarity on how to support growing global energy demand while reducing emissions, said OPEC secretary general Haitham Al Ghais at the Energy Asia 2023 in Kuala Lumpur. ─ Reuters

China to build 6,000km hydrogen pipeline network by 2050

Li Guohui, vice president of state-owned China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Corporation said China will develop a 6,000km hydrogen pipeline network by 2050, which would be accessible to hydrogen asset owners and traders.

He also said that total hydrogen demand is expected to grow to 100m metric tonnes per annum by 2060. Hydrogen production in China reached around 33m tonnes in 2020, which is 30% of the world’s total. ─ Carbon Herald

Source: Kenanga Research - 28 Jun 2023