A task force of the Basel, Switzerland-based Financial Stability Board today issued a 2019 status update on its efforts to develop voluntary financial disclosures related to climate change, which could affect banks both as preparers and as users of public disclosures.
The Task Force on Climate-Related Disclosures found that 78% of companies it reviewed disclosed at least some climate-related information in 2018, up from 70% two years prior, but that just 4% released information aligned with at least 10 of the task force’s 11 recommended disclosures. The nature of climate-related disclosures continue to vary across industries, company sizes and regions and are often made in multiple reports. Banking companies tended to make climate-related disclosures at higher rates than other industries, with more than half of banks reviewed making disclosures about management roles, risks and opportunities, organizational effects, risk assessment processes and climate-related metrics and targets, the report found.
The recommended disclosures are meant to be voluntary and have not been formulated into regulatory standards or requirements by U.S. regulators. Working with the International Banking Federation, American Bankers Association staff provided recommendations to the Task Force prior to its 2017 release and will continue to monitor developments on this issue in the U.S. For more information, contact ABA’s Mike Gullette.
