London Stock Exchange to Launch Transition-Bond Segment, Commits to Net-Zero

By Maitane Sardon

London Stock Exchange Group PLC on Monday outlined new sustainability commitments and said it will launch a segment dedicated to bonds of companies that have targets to achieve net-zero emissions.

The London-based stock exchange and financial-information company pledged to halve the carbon emissions from its operations and its supply chain over the next ten years and bring them to net-zero by 2050 at the latest. It said it will engage all of its key suppliers so they set science-based targets for their direct emissions by 2025.

LSEG added that it will embed recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures into its financial reporting. The TCFD is an organization chaired by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg that provides a framework for companies to report how climate change could affect their financial performance.

The company also said it will launch a dedicated segment for transition bonds, which finance companies that aim to shift to cleaner ways of doing business but don't have enough environmentally friendly projects to issue green bonds. LSEG said the segment will display debt instruments from issuers that have a corporate strategy or transition framework aligned with the Paris Agreement.

"Financial-markets infrastructure plays a core role in enabling the transition to a net-zero economy," Chief Executive David Schwimmer said, adding that "the focus on incorporating sustainable investment strategies has only increased during the Covid-19 pandemic."

Write to Maitane Sardon at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 16, 2021 07:04 ET (12:04 GMT)

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