[2021 Asia Financial Forum] ESG Influences Corporate Value... Importance of 'Environment' to Grow

Professor Ben Caldecott of Oxford University, UK
'Biodiversity' Issue Urgent

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young]Ben Caldecott, a professor at the University of Oxford in the UK, attended the '2021 Seoul Asia Financial Forum' held on the 25th at the Westin Chosun Hotel on Sogong-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, and explained the reason why ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) has emerged as an important issue: "Because ESG is affecting corporate value."

He also predicted that the importance of the environmental (E) element among the ESG factors will grow even more. He pointed out, "Climate-related 'physical risks' and 'transition risks' are urgent issues within ESG," but also noted, "Biodiversity is becoming increasingly important over time." He added, "There is less than a decade left to prevent the widespread destruction of natural habitat ecosystems currently underway," and "This issue may be even more urgent than climate change."

Professor Caldecott criticized the green taxonomy as unsuitable for preventing 'greenwashing,' which is 'disguised environmentalism' that promotes something as eco-friendly when it is not actually environmentally friendly. He argued, "For example, excessive classification systems are rife with corporate lobbying to lower thresholds during the classification process," and "Personally, I believe green taxonomy is not appropriate as a method to address greenwashing." He explained that the best way to prevent greenwashing is to empower regulatory agencies to enforce regulations. He added, "Along with this, providing customers with information about whether the products and services sold to them have an impact on greenwashing can also be effective."

Professor Caldecott emphasized, "The role of green taxonomy is to identify what constitutes green pollutants," and "It should be used to eliminate assets that cause pollution."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.