Expanding the role of bacterial vaccines into life-course vaccination strategies and prevention of antimicrobial-resistant infections
Nairobi County Partners Canadian Government To Fight TB Among Children
A section of Mama Lucy Hospital in Nairobi. [PHOTO DAVID NJAAGA/STANDARD]Nairobi County Government has received a boost to fight Tuberculosis in the city following a partnership with the Canadian government.
This precedes a deal that struck between Nairobi County government and seven visiting Canadian legislators.
It stipulates that the county government will receive donor funding which will be channeled towards diagnosing and treating the TB among children.
The partnership was announced by a group of three Canadian diplomats who visited Mama Lucy Hospital in Kayole Estate, Nairobi.
The three assessed paediatric clinic in the facility and lauded the work of Nairobi County government in service delivery. The three are Mr. Chandra Arya, Mrs. Stephanie Kusie and Mr. Scott Simms.
While speaking during the assessment tour, they made an assurance of continued support from the Canadian government to the county's healthcare sector.
Mama Lucy Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Musa Mohamed has supported the partnership, saying that the tour is a farmiliarisation process but the TB treatment is a preserve of county government.
Mohammed says that so far the facility has benefitted in training of pediatric TB health care workers, support to community health volunteers, supply of modern TB diagnosis equipment and other medical education among others.
"So far they are helping us contain pediatric TB but we are now appealing to the Canadian government to extend the aid to TB treatment among adults," adds Dr Mohammed.
Nairobi County is part of 9 counties in Kenya receiving healthcare donor fund support from Canadian government valued at USD1m.
Canadian Sustainability Standards Board Publishes Inaugural ...
On December 18, 2024, the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB), which has been working since June 2023 to advance the adoption of sustainability standards in Canada, released its inaugural Canadian Sustainability Disclosure Standards: CSDS 1 – General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information (CSDS 1) and CSDS 2 – Climate-related Disclosures (CSDS 2, collectively with CSDS 1 referred to as the Standards), which are effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025.
The Standards establish a set of sustainability and climate-related disclosure standards for Canadian companies that are modelled on those developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). While voluntary and non-binding, the Standards offer a sustainability-related disclosure framework aimed at bringing consistency, comparability and transparency to sustainability and climate-related reporting, allowing investors and other interested parties timely access to decision-useful information.
The publication of the Standards is a significant development in the Canadian sustainability disclosure landscape, as they are expected to influence the development of sustainability and climate-related reporting obligations for Canadian public companies, in particular, proposed National Instrument 51-107 – Disclosure of Climate-related Matters and its Companion Policy (the Proposed Instrument).
Highlights of CSDS 1 and CSDS 2The objective of CSDS 1 is to require an entity to disclose information about its sustainability-related risks and opportunities. The objective of CSDS 2 is to require an entity to disclose information about its climate-related risks and opportunities, including climate-related physical risks and climate-related transition risks. For further information regarding the development of the Standards, please see our March 2024 Blakes Bulletin: New Developments in the Sustainability Disclosure Landscape.
As the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have stated that they anticipate taking a "climate-first approach," the content of CSDS 2 is most relevant to Canadian public companies looking to assess the potential breadth and depth of their future disclosure obligations. Three aspects of CSDS 2 should be of particular interest to such companies: Scope 3 emissions disclosure, scenario analysis and transitional relief.
(1) Scope 3 Emissions DisclosureCSDS 2 requires companies to disclose not only their absolute Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (which must be measured in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol) but also more detailed information regarding, among other things, the specific categories of Scope 3 GHG emissions that comprise their overall Scope 3 GHG emissions.
(2) Scenario AnalysisCSDS 2 also requires companies to use climate-related scenario analysis and disclose the results from such analysis in a manner that enables investors to understand the resilience of their strategy and business model to climate-related changes, developments and uncertainties, taking into consideration their climate-related risks and opportunities.
(3) Transitional ReliefThe Standards provide issuers who adopt CSDS 2 with a three-year transitional relief period during which they are not required to disclose Scope 3 GHG emissions or the quantitative aspects of climate-related scenario analysis. This is notable as the initial draft of the Standards provided for only two years of transitional relief in relation to Scope 3 GHG emissions disclosure and no transitional relief in respect of the use and disclosure of climate-related scenario analysis.
Implications for Climate-Related Disclosure Rules in CanadaThe Standards, specifically CSDS 2, now provide a clear framework for Canadian companies to consider in preparing climate-related disclosure, but, as they are not legally binding, there are no legal consequences for non-compliance. However, the publication of the Standards should still be regarded as significant for Canadian public companies because the Standards are expected to be influential on the CSA in their efforts to finalize the Proposed Instrument.
The Proposed Instrument, which would introduce specific disclosure requirements regarding climate-related matters for most public companies in Canada, was initially published in draft form in October 2021. The Proposed Instrument subsequently underwent an extensive public comment period during which 131 comments were provided and currently remains under consideration by the CSA.
The Standards are expected to have a considerable impact on the timing and content of the Proposed Instrument.
With respect to timing, the publication of the Standards provides the impetus for the CSA to advance the development of the Proposed Instrument. In particular, immediately following the publication of the Standards, the CSA issued a press release in which it advised that it now intends to publish a revised version of the Proposed Instrument for public comment.
In terms of content, the Standards are also expected to be persuasive in the CSA's efforts to finalize the Proposed Instrument. As such, public companies should take particular note of the inclusion of Scope 3 GHG emissions disclosure and scenario analysis in CSDS 2, which were not contemplated by the initial draft of the Proposed Instrument. However, recent comments from Canadian securities regulators indicate that they are mindful of the additional burden that such disclosure will entail and are seeking opportunities to mitigate such burden.
In particular, in the Alberta Securities Commission's (ASC) recent 2024 Corporate Finance Disclosure Report, the ASC emphasized that challenges faced by smaller reporting issuers, liability concerns, competitive international considerations and international trends – particularly those in the United States – are among the many factors that must be considered in the development of the Proposed Instrument. Similarly, in the press release noted above, the CSA discussed the need to "work towards a balanced approach that supports the assessment of material climate-related risks, responds to requests for consistent, comparable and decision-useful climate-related disclosures, and contributes to efficient capital markets, including considering the needs and capabilities of issuers of different sizes."
It remains to be seen how the CSA will seek to address such considerations in the next iteration of the Proposed Instrument.
Looking AheadThe introduction of the Standards is the latest national effort to bring the consistency, comparability and transparency of Canadian sustainability reporting in line with the global baseline standards developed by the ISSB, while appropriately contextualizing such rules for Canada. The potential broad applicability of the Proposed Instrument means that public companies across industries and sectors should take notice of the Standards (in particular, CSDS 2) and their expected influence on the CSA.
Canadian Sustainability Standards Board Announces Proposed ...
[co-author:Brienne Gloeckler - Articling Student]
On March 13, 2024, the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB) released exposure drafts of its first two proposed Canadian Sustainability Disclosure Standards (Proposed Standards). The Proposed Standards are based on the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS Standards) that set a global baseline for companies to report sustainability and climate-related information.
In addition to the Proposed Standards, the CSSB also released its proposed "Criteria for Modification Framework" (Framework). The Framework sets out the basis upon which the CSSB could modify the ISSB IFRS Standards when adopting them in Canada.
Along with the introduction of the Proposed Standards and the Framework, the CSSB announced the opening of a public comment period in which it has invited feedback on the Proposed Standards and Framework from interested parties.
BackgroundIn 2021, in response to increasing demands from stakeholders, the ISSB was formed to develop global baseline sustainability disclosure standards that aim to bring further transparency and comparability of sustainability-related risks and opportunities to global capital markets. On June 26, 2023, the ISSB released its first IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards: IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information (IFRS 1) and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures (IFRS 2).
In 2022, the CSSB was created to coordinate with the ISSB and support the integration of ISSB standards in Canada.
The Proposed Standards and the FrameworkThe Proposed Standards are CSDS 1, General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information (CSDS 1) and CSDS 2, Climate-related Disclosures (CSDS 2). The Proposed Standards are based on IFRS 1 and IFRS 2, respectively.
CSDS 1 requires an entity adopting it to disclose information about "all sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could reasonably be expected to affect the entity's cash flows, its access to finance or cost of capital over the short, medium, or long term." There are four areas of "core content" that adopting entities must provide disclosure about under CSDS 1: governance, strategy, risk management and metrics and targets.
CSDS 2 requires an entity adopting it to disclose information about "climate-related risks and opportunities that is useful to primary users of general-purpose financial reports in making decisions relating to providing resources to the entity." The climate-related risks include physical risks and transition risks to which the reporting entity is exposed. The "core content" that CSDS 2 requires to be disclosed is similar to that of CSDS 1 but focuses on the climate-related aspects of those content areas.
While the IFRS Standards were used as a baseline to develop CSDS 1 and CSDS 2, CSSB has applied the Framework to propose several adjustments to ensure that Canadian standards align with international standards while addressing Canadian public interest. The Framework proposes to limit (current and future) amendments to an IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standard to situations where (1) the application of the IFRS standard is not permitted by or would require amendment to be consistent with Canadian law; and (2) CSSB believes amendments are required to serve the Canadian public interest and maintain the quality of sustainability disclosure in Canada.
A summary of the proposed modifications is as follows:
The Proposed Standards state that the CSSB will work with Indigenous communities to explore how the Proposed Standards can best address and respect the rights of Indigenous peoples (as expressed in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act).
While the Proposed Standards will not be mandatory, their release could lead to the implementation by regulators of mandatory sustainability reporting requirements under applicable Canadian law. For instance, if the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) incorporate the Proposed Standards into a National Instrument, the Proposed Standards would become mandatory under Canadian securities law. On July 5, 2023, the CSA stated that they "intend to conduct further consultations to adopt disclosure standards based on ISSB Standards, with modifications considered necessary and appropriate in the Canadian context."
Next Steps: ConsultationThe CSSB has invited comments on all aspects of the Proposed Standards but has specifically requested feedback in relation to the scope of CSDS 1, the timing of reporting, the climate resilience content requirement and Scope 3 GHG emissions. More information about the CSSB's focus for feedback can be found in the CSDS 1 and CSDS 2 exposure drafts.
Interested parties can provide comments through an online survey or an electronic response letter. Responses will be publicly posted after the comment period closes but respondents can request confidentiality when submitting their feedback.
Comments are due by June 10, 2024. CSSB aims to make a final pronouncement before the fourth quarter of 2024.
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