In Brief: Singapore launches taxonomy with transition category; Canada releases oil emissions cap regulation

The latest ESG policy and regulatory news

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has released its sustainable finance taxonomy and become the first jurisdiction to include transition categories in such a document. The taxonomy makes use of a traffic light system to differentiate between investments into activities considered green and those contributing to the transition but which do not fit its green definitions, and considers eight economic sectors. The regulator deems transitional those “activities that do not meet the green thresholds now but are on a pathway to net zero or contributing to net zero outcomes”. The framework also gives special attention to the early phase-out of coal power plants, which are also the key focus of MAS’s “transition credits coalition” that will aim to scale the early retirement of coal plants in Asia. In addition to energy, the other focus sectors are real estate; transportation; agriculture and forestry and land use; the industrial sector; information and communication technology; waste and circular economy; carbon capture and sequestration.