Banks And Insurers Support Task Force Recommendations On Climate-Related Financial Disclosure

Author: Dina Medland / Source: Forbes

Major banks, insurers and investors feature among more than 100 business leaders and their companies publicly committing to support the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), just published. They represent over $3 trillion in market capitalization, and their support underlines both the growing trend for businesses to consider the impact of climate change on their operations, and for institutional investors to demand better information from them.

Among the banks are Bank of America, Barclays, HSBC, ING, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and more, while insurers include Aviva plc and AXA Group. The full list of CEOs supporting the recommendations to date is here.

The published Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures come 18 months after it was first established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), as reported here on Forbes. In developing a voluntary framework for companies to disclose climate-related information in their financial filings, the Task Force received more than 300 responses from 30 countries and worked with a variety of stakeholders. Its leadership is diverse, but reflects the importance of climate risk for the financial services sector. With Michael Bloomberg as Chair, the four Vice Chairs are Denise Pavarina, Executive Director, Banco Bradesco; Graeme Pitkethly, Chief Financial Officer, Unilever; Christian Thimann, Group Head of Regulation, Sustainability and Insurance Foresight, AXA; and Yeo Lian Sim, Special Advisor to the Singapore Exchange.

David Leveson, Bloomberg

Mark Carney (L) Chair of the Financial Stability Board and Governor of the Bank of England and Michael Bloomberg (R) Chair of the TCFD December 14, 2016 TCFD at Tate Modern, London, UK Pic via Bloomberg

“Climate change presents global markets with risks and opportunities that cannot be ignored, which is why a framework around climate-related disclosures is so important. The Task Force brings that framework to the table, helping investors evaluate the potential risks and rewards of a transition to a lower carbon economy. We’re pleased to see so many businesses and investors around the world support the recommendations of the TCFD and hope others will be encouraged to join our initiative” said Michael Bloomberg.

These recommendations have been structured around four thematic areas representing the core elements of how companies operate: governance, strategy, risk management, as…

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