Businesses up their game on climate disclosure but are still slow to act on decarbonization

• Steep increase in number of companies providing disclosure on climate impacts but quality of reporting is not improving
• Just one-third of organizations mention the impact of climate change on their business in financial statements

Businesses around the world are starting to improve their disclosure on climate risks but are not yet taking much needed action to address these risks and respond to the needs of investors and customers, according to the latest EY Global Climate Risk Barometer.

The report, now in its fourth year, looks at the extent to which organizations across the globe are reporting on – and taking action to mitigate – their climate risks and opportunities. It examines the efforts of more than 1,500 businesses in 47 countries to publish information, based on the 11 recommendations set by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which was established to improve and increase reporting of climate-related financial data. The Barometer scores companies on the number of recommended disclosures that they make (coverage) and the extent or detail of each disclosure (quality).

According to the Barometer, more organizations are now providing some level of information (better coverage) on each of the recommendations than in previous years. Where a score of 100% would show information being disclosed on all recommendations, this year’s average score is 84% – a steep rise from 70% in 2021.

However, companies are still struggling to improve the quality of their disclosures. The average quality score sits at 44% – just slightly above the score of 42% in last year’s survey. A score of 100% would demonstrate that a company is disclosing all of the details needed.  

Despite burgeoning regulatory and political activity around climate change, and clear improvements in disclosure rules over the past 12 months – including the proposed standards from the newly created International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) – businesses are struggling to take practical steps towards decarbonization. For example, only 29% of companies surveyed say that they report on the impact of climate change in their financial statements – a sign that they don’t have the data they need or that they have not calculated the impact; and more than half of the references to climate impact in these statements are qualitative rather than quantitative.

There are slightly more positive signs of progress in other areas. Almost half of organizations surveyed globally (49%) responded that they have conducted scenario analysis – which is also a TCFD recommendation – to examine the likely scale and timings of particular risks and prepare for the worst-case outcomes. Three-quarters (75%) responded that they have conducted risk analysis, and 62% have undertaken opportunity analysis, while 61% have disclosed decarbonization strategies.

The survey also shows that companies are now giving more balanced consideration to different types of risks than in previous years. They are paying attention to both “transition risks” – stemming from changes in the economy brought about by climate change, for example slower growth in specific sectors – and “physical risks” that are a direct result of changes in climate, such as the consequences of increased rainfall. Last year, companies were more focused on physical risks (55%) than on transition risks (25%).

One area in which companies have shown a particular improvement is strategic planning around climate risk. The EY Global Climate Risk Barometer scores organizations’ strategies by examining, for example, the extent to which they factor climate risks and opportunities into their plans or how they build resilience through diversification. The coverage score for strategy has risen to 81%, from 65% in last year’s survey – indicating that more companies are at least disclosing some information in this area.

The quantity and quality of disclosure varies widely across the countries surveyed, but as in the previous three reports, countries with rigorous climate disclosure regulation; a proactive investor community; and strong signals from policy makers, tend to see the highest scores. The countries with the best quality of disclosure include South Korea and Ireland, as well as several in Southern, Central and Eastern Europe, with the UK scoring highest of all on both quality and coverage.

The report also highlights several steps companies can take to accelerate decarbonization for their own organizations and the wider economy. These include treating disclosure as a means to an end, not an end in itself; setting meaningful targets; and exploring the opportunities borne out of climate impacts, as well as the risks.  

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About the research

The EY Global Climate Risk Disclosure Barometer provides an annual overview of the alignment of organizations’ climate-related risk disclosures with the recommendations across sectors likely to be highly impacted worldwide.

This assessment provides not only companies, but also external stakeholders of all types (such as national regulators, financial institutions and investors), with an understanding of the current state of global climate risk reporting. The first edition of the Barometer was issued in December 2018.

The 2022 Barometer analyses the extent to which companies have applied the TCFD’s framework to more effectively disclose climate-related risks and opportunities through their reporting processes. It draws on public disclosures produced during the 2021 calendar year by companies in both the financial and nonfinancial sectors, including companies that are at high risk of climate-related impact. These disclosures were typically made in annual sustainability reports and CDP reports.

The disclosures of more 1,500 companies (the largest by market capitalization) across 47 jurisdictions were included in the assessment, broadening the size and geographical scope from 2021, when the research was based on more than 1,100 companies across 42 jurisdictions. In addition, the scoring matrix for the Barometer has been evolved and refined since last year to become even more detailed and robust. Because of these changes, it was not possible to include a meaningful in-depth year-on-year analysis.