This report from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) is an annual report on TCFD-aligned disclosures by firms.

The TCFD was established by the FSB in 2015 to develop a set of voluntary, consistent disclosure recommendations for use by companies in providing information to investors, lenders and insurance underwriters about their climate-related financial risks. The industry members of the TCFD, who are drawn from a wide range of industries and countries from around the globe, finalised the recommendations in 2017 after extensive public engagement and consultation. They set out the disclosures that a wide range of users and preparers of financial filings have said are essential to understanding a company’s climate-related risks and opportunities.

Since then, more than 1,500 organisations have expressed their support for the TCFD recommendations, an increase of over 85% since the 2019 status report. Nearly 60% of the world’s 100 largest public companies support the TCFD, report in line with the TCFD recommendations, or both. The latest status report finds that disclosure of climate-related financial information aligned with the TCFD recommendations has steadily increased since the recommendations were published in 2017. However, the report highlights the continuing need for progress in improving levels of TCFD-aligned disclosures given the urgent demand for consistency and comparability in reporting. The TCFD found that:

On average across the TCFD recommendations, 42% of companies with a market capitalisation greater than $10 billion disclosed at least some information in line with each individual TCFD recommendation in 2019.

Nearly 60% of the world’s 100 largest public companies support the TCFD, report in line with the TCFD recommendations, or both.

Energy companies and materials and buildings companies are leading on disclosure, with an average level of TCFD-aligned disclosures of 40% for energy companies and 30% for materials and buildings companies in fiscal year 2019.

Expert users of disclosure identified the impact of climate change on a company’s business and strategy as the “most useful” information for financial decision-making. Notably, this information has the lowest level of disclosure across the recommendations, with just one in 15 companies making this disclosure.

Asset manager and asset owner reporting to their clients and beneficiaries is likely insufficient.

The report also provides a ‘roadmap’ for preparers through highlighting insights from expert users on which information is most useful for decision making.

The TCFD also published guidance on climate-related scenario analysis for non-financial firms and on integrating climate-related risks into existing risk management processes. Additionally, the TCFD published a public consultation on forward-looking climate metrics for financial firms; responses to the consultation are due by 27 January 2021.

The FSB has asked the TCFD to publish a further status report in September 2021 and undertake further analysis on the extent to which companies describe the financial impact of climate-related risks and opportunities on their businesses and strategies. The TCFD also plans to gain better insight into reporting practices of asset managers and asset owners to their clients and beneficiaries.