The Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) has published its sixth (and final) annual status report on the implementation of its recommendations on climate-related financial disclosures (the TCFD Recommendations). The UK Transition Plan Taskforce has also published its final framework for transition plan disclosures.

TCFD status report

The status report will be the final report published by the TCFD, as the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), which is developing new IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, will assume responsibility for monitoring climate-related reporting by companies from 2024 (see our blog post here for further details on the ISSB and climate-related reporting).

As the TCFD comes to the end of its role overseeing climate-related reporting by companies, it says it is pleased with the progress made since the TCFD Recommendations were published but remains concerned that too few companies are providing decision-useful disclosures, especially in relation to the impact of climate change on their businesses, strategies and financial planning. The report sets out its recommendations for areas of continued focus and future work, which include a continued focus on the disclosures relating to the resilience of corporate strategy in different climate-related scenarios.

TPT Disclosure Framework

The UK Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) has published its final framework for the disclosure of plans for transition to net zero.

The TPT was set up by the UK Treasury in March 2022 in the light of the commitments made by the UK as part of the transition to a green economy, and it was tasked with developing best practice for transition plan disclosure.

The TPT's Disclosure Framework aims to provide a sector-agnostic, gold standard for robust and credible transition plan disclosures and to provide a basis for the implementation of mandatory reporting requirements. Both the FCA (for listed companies) and the UK government (for the largest public and private companies in the UK) intend to consult on the introduction of transition plan disclosure requirements and are expected to refer to the TPT's Disclosure Framework as part of that process.

For more details on the TPT's Disclosure Framework, see our ESG blog post here.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.