Asset owners and managers wanting to learn more about climate-related financial disclosure can now do so online.
On Sept. 10, the London-based Climate Disclosure Standards Board launched an e-learning platform through its TCFD Knowledge Hub. The goal is twofold: improving climate-related financial reporting and accelerating adoption of recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
The TCFD is developing voluntary climate-related financial disclosure standards for companies to inform investors and other stakeholders, and its latest status report in June shows little progress, said Mardi McBrien, managing director of the Climate Disclosure Standards Board.
"With only 4% of companies disclosing information aligned with at least 10 of the 11 TCFD recommendations to date, we need to scale up high-quality disclosure across the board if we are to combat the most severe consequences of climate change" and give investors the information they need to make informed decisions, Ms. McBrien said in a statement.
Investors are pressing for more concise and comparative information on how climate change affects companies as well as the financial system as a whole, Gemma Clements, CDSB project manager, said in an interview. The online courses look at climate change through two lenses: how a company impacts climate change and other environmental issues, and how climate change affects the company. The platform was developed with input from investors, companies, accounting bodies, academics and environmental practitioners.
CDSB is starting with three courses, with plans to add more. The first course is an introduction to climate-related disclosures, while the second course focuses on understanding the TCFD recommendations. The third course is aimed at helping accountants understand how to embed climate change into financial management disclosure.
