Press release

24 Mar 2021 London, GB

EY Comments on the UK government’s Climate-related Financial Disclosures Consultation

Commenting on the publication of the Government’s consultation on mandatory climate-related financial disclosures earlier today, EY Climate Change and Sustainability Services Partner, Dr Rebecca Farmer, comments

Commenting on the publication of the Government’s consultation on mandatory climate-related financial disclosures earlier today, EY Climate Change and Sustainability Services Partner, Dr Rebecca Farmer, says:

“Today’s consultation is another critical step on the path towards the UK’s Net Zero ambitions. To achieve these goals, it’s vital that there is increased visibility over how companies – both listed and large private firms – manage the risks associated with climate change, as well as identify the opportunities of a Net Zero economy.

“Insights from the new TCFD-aligned reporting requirements will further enable companies, investors, providers of capital and other stakeholders to better understand how the financial risks from climate change will affect corporate strategy, performance and asset value, thereby driving investment in sustainable activities through more informed decision-making. Given the importance of the private market in moving the dial on climate change, it is welcome that the Government also proposes bringing the largest non-listed firms into scope.

“Pace on this agenda is essential, and this latest consultation is part of a clear roadmap for how the new requirements will be applied across the UK economy by 2025. However, the Government’s proposed approach does provide some necessary flexibility, which will help as TCFD reporting capabilities evolve.

“Last autumn, EY found that fewer than half of UK premium listed companies fully or partially adopted TCFD requirements in their corporate reporting, which highlighted the scale of work still to be done even before the expansion of requirements to other listed and non-listed companies. Our annual Climate Disclosure Risk Barometer continues to show that while the quantity of reporting has improved, there remains significant progress to be made on the quality of those disclosures.”

See related insights in our EY Sustainable Finance Index and our EY Climate Disclosure Risk Barometer.