Regulation · · 2 min read
Qatar Central Bank Sets the Roadmap for ESG
Qatari banks began disclosing ESG practices early, and voluntarily. With the Sustainability Reporting Framework issued by Qatar Central Bank in December 2025, that disclosure becomes mandatory for banks and insurers from 1 January 2026.
WRITTEN BY
ESG Qatar Editorial
Hawkama International
Key takeaways
- QCB launched an ESG and Sustainability Strategy for the financial sector as part of the Third Financial Sector Strategy.
- Its ESG Supervisory Principles guide banks on embedding ESG factors into governance, risk management and operations.
- The Sustainability Reporting Framework, launched in December 2025, obliges banks and insurers to disclose from 1 January 2026.
- The framework adopts ISSB standards - IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 - across four pillars: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.
- There is no precise public figure for how many Qatari banks disclose today; the larger banks were already reporting voluntarily.
- Islamic banks face an unresolved gap: no official guidance yet reconciles ISSB disclosure with an independent Shari’ah supervisory board.
Qatari banks are converging on ESG standards along an ambitious, state-led regulatory path whose purpose is to bring disclosure practice into line with international best practice. On the question of how many banks disclose their practices today there is no precise figure - but the new regulatory framework is designed to make disclosure mandatory for all of them shortly.
Qatar’s regulatory approach: towards unified, mandatory disclosure
Qatar is building an integrated ecosystem for financial sustainability, with Qatar Central Bank in the pivotal role:
- A comprehensive national strategyQatar Central Bank launched the “ESG and Sustainability Strategy for the Financial Sector” as part of the Third Financial Sector Strategy, to serve as the roadmap for banks and financial institutions.
- Supervisory principles for oversightIt issued the “Environmental, Social and Governance Supervisory Principles (for Banks)” as guidance for banks on integrating ESG factors into their governance, their risk management and their operations.
- A mandatory disclosure frameworkIn a decisive step, Qatar Central Bank launched the “Sustainability Reporting Framework” in December 2025, obliging banks and insurance companies to begin disclosing their sustainability performance from 1 January 2026.
- Adoption of global standardsThe new framework adopts the standards of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), specifically IFRS S1 and IFRS S2. That places Qatar among the leading jurisdictions in adopting unified global disclosure standards, which strengthens the credibility and transparency of the reporting. Disclosure covers four core pillars: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.
Where the banks stand today: leading voluntary examples
Before disclosure became mandatory, some Qatari banks - the larger ones in particular - had already begun to adopt ESG practices voluntarily and to publish annual sustainability reports.
For all that progress, challenges remain - particularly for Islamic banks applying ISSB standards. Analyses have pointed to the absence, so far, of official guidance on reconciling global disclosure requirements with the distinct governance structures of Islamic banks, such as a Shari’ah supervisory board that sits independently of the board of directors.
TOPICS
- Qatar Central Bank sustainability reporting framework
- QCB ESG supervisory principles for banks
- Third Financial Sector Strategy
- IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 for Qatari banks
- Islamic banks and ISSB disclosure