FCA delays consultation on SDR

The FCA has delayed its consultation on its long-awaited sustainability disclosure requirements and investment labels for the UK, which form part of the UK’s post-Brexit divergence of regulatory rules.

Background

In June 2021, the UK regulator published a consultation paper on proposals for climate-related disclosures for the UK.

At the time, the UK regulator explained these proposals aim to play a part in delivering the Government’s roadmap towards mandatory climate-related disclosures across the UK economy by 2025. This was aligned with recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

The FCA requested that responses to this consultation needed to be sent to the FCA by 10 September 2021, with the aim of publishing a policy statement before the end of the year.

Drilling down into the details of what these proposals might look like, the FCA then published a discussion paper in November 2021, on new sustainability disclosure requirements (SDR) for asset managers and FCA-regulated asset owners. It formed part of the regulator’s wider ESG framework, which aims to help consumers navigate their sustainability characteristics.

The discussion paper stated the discussion period was open until 7 January 2022, after which, the FCA would look to consult on the responses during Q2 2022.

New delay

The FCA’s website has stated the regulator has changed the consultation period on this latest discussion paper to autumn 2022. However, the initial deadline for responses remains and no further comments can be submitted, despite the delay to the consultation process.

“We had aimed to consult in Q2 of 2022,” stated the FCA. “We are now planning on consulting in the autumn, to allow us to take account of other international policy initiatives and ensure stakeholders have time to consider these issues.”