Jersey’s sustainable finance action plan is published today, 21 November 2024

Today, the Government of Jersey [JERSEYGOV] published its sustainable finance action plan at an event supported by the JFSC, Jersey Finance, Channel Islands Brussels Office and other stakeholders.

• https://www.gov.je/Industry/Finance/Pages/SustainableFinancePlan.aspx

About the action plan

1. The Sustainable Finance Action Plan aims to build capabilities within the Jersey financial services ecosystem over the next two to three years.
2. Using the fast follower approach, this plan will:
1. Future-proof the financial services industry
2. Open new business opportunities
3. Enhance Jersey’s connectivity internationally.

3 KEY PILLARS OF THE ACTION PLAN

For each of these areas, JERSEYGOV will develop support within a sustainable finance ecosystem, which will become the three key pillars of the action plan:

1. Risk and governance.
2. Incentives
3. Engagement​

THE 10 ACTION POINTS​​

Based on the three key pillars, this action plan will deliver on ten action points:

1. ​​To protect the Jersey finance industry.
2. ​​To promote its success.

10 STEPS TO PROTECTING THE JERSEY FINANCE INDUSTRY​​

1. ​​Environmental Crime:
1. JERSEYGOV will reinforce the financial crime risk framework on environmental crime, including the range of predicate offences and the tools necessary for identification and reporting.
2. By cooperating with Jersey’s Financial Intelligence Unit, JERSEYGOV will work to facilitate corporate SAR reporting and the identification of predicate offences through guidance and enhanced engagement with industry
2. Corporate Sustainability Disclosures:
1. JERSEYGOV will be one of the first IFCs to adopt a robust and proportionate disclosure framework aligned to internationally recognised sustainability disclosure standards
3. Sustainability Risk Management:
1. JERSEYGOV will embed sustainability risk management obligations within the regulatory framework so that financial services businesses consider how to manage their sustainability risk exposure (including climate risk), helping to future-proof firms for the benefit of the local community and the planet.
4. ESG Business Integrity Risk:
1. JERSEYGOV will expand its principles-based anti-green washing measures at the product and corporate levels to ensure business advertising and client services are transparent, well-informed, and substantiated in sustainability.
2. This way, Jersey maintains an environment with high market integrity and can promote its services fairly, clearly, and effectively.
5. Market Access: ​
1. JERSEYGOV will protect Jersey’s financial services access to key markets and jurisdictions on a bilateral basis or through its network of international agreements, Promoting the JERSEY finance industry​.
6. International Engagement:
1. This will include leveraging inter-agency cooperation to maximise the presence and impact of JERSEYGOV interactions with international partners, alliances, organisations, and forums of interest.
7. Fiduciary Duties:
1. The Jersey trusts law is flexible enough to accommodate sustainable considerations in the exercise of fiduciary duties,
2. JERSEYGOV will support the development of client service excellence, reinforcing messages around legal certainty and sharing best practices for better meeting client aspirations.
8. Skills:
1. JERSEYGOV will support the upskilling of THE financial services industry to ensure better risk management, increased client service excellence and to ensure the industry can grasp the opportunities that sustainable finance can bring
9. New Products:
1. JERSEYGOV will review the product suite and develop innovative new products to maximise the attraction of sustainable capital (and the talent behind it). This will enable Jersey to increase its role in the deployment of sustainable capital
10. Data:
1. JERSEYGOV will grow its sustainability data analysis capabilities at the jurisdictional level using technology, including artificial intelligence.
2. JERSEYGOV will enhance its cooperation with key local stakeholders, enabling it to better analyse its regional financial services performance.
3. JERSEYGOV data insights will allow it to spot market opportunities and better articulate JERSEY's substantial contribution to planet Earth and the Jersey community sustainability internationally.

The JFSC state

• They will play a key role in considering and delivering new or amended regulations where appropriate and proportionate and collaborating with stakeholders to build capacity and enhance the JFSC regime.

The following steps will include a consultation in these three main areas in 2025:

• Sustainability disclosures
• Sustainable risk
• ESG integrity risk

For more details, visit:

• https://bit.ly/498yloU
• https://www.jerseyfsc.org/news-and-events/government-of-jersey-publishes-sustainable-finance-action-plan/
• https://www.gov.je/Industry/Finance/Pages/SustainableFinancePlan.aspx