The Financial Conduct Authority establishes ESG committee 

The main role of the committee will be to provide advice to the FCA on: oversight of ESG issues, relevant/emerging ESG topics and development of the FCAs ESG strategy.

This includes meeting the Government’s expectation that the FCA ’have regard’ to the UK’s commitment to achieving a net zero economy by 2050, when considering how to advance and achieve its objectives and functions.  

It is assumed that The Committee’s membership will include experienced experts from different fields, who have in-depth knowledge of ESG issues in the financial sector.

Members will be appointed by the Board in a personal capacity and will need to abide by a conflict-of-interest policy. The FCA is now considering various options to decide who will be part of. It is expected that FCA employees will not be appointable to the Committee.

The Committee assures that it will ensure the diversity of the members, in line with their commitments to promote diverse and inclusive financial services. 

The Committee will meet for the first time in Q4 2022, and meeting quarterly henceforth. In case of an emergency, meetings can be more frequent. The Board will also select a chair of the committee and the FCA will provide secretariat support.