Climate-related Financial Disclosures

Baroness Featherstone Excerpts

Tuesday 30th January 2018 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Featherstone]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the ability of companies to apply with consistency the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Lord Henley) (Con)]

My Lords, Her Majesty’s Government have endorsed the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and encouraged all publicly listed companies to implement them. We are seeking views on companies’ ability to apply these recommendations with consistency through the work of the green finance task force and the recent streamlined energy carbon reporting consultation.

[Baroness Featherstone (LD)]

But that is voluntary. Do the Government agree with big investors in the UK economy such as Aviva that climate disclosures should now be mandatory, to set the pace for innovation and ensure that the UK secures competitive advantage amid the global race to green the financial system?

[Lord Henley]

My Lords, that is one view. It was looked at by the Environmental Audit Committee inquiry on green finance, which sought evidence on the effectiveness of the TCFD’s recommendations and the Government’s role in supporting their implementation. There is broad consensus among stakeholders that companies will certainly require more time to implement the recommendations but some have recommended making disclosure mandatory within, say, two to three years. The Government have not yet taken a view on this matter and will consider it in due course.