Global new standards for climate-related financial disclosures launched

As the Paris COP21 Agreement officially came into force, the process of promoting multilateral governance of global climate set out on a new journey. Countries have committed to transitioning to a low-carbon economy to draw a new vision of sustainable development at a higher level. Chinese leaders declared to the world that China will adhere to the development concepts of pursuing "innovative, coordinated, green, open and mutually beneficial" progress and actively propel this process. It will integrate climate change issues into its national economic and social development planning and set an example for global energy conservation and emission reduction.

When addressing climate change, we often mention that "information is king". Yet globally, we still lack a clear framework to help companies disclose the financial risks and opportunities associated with climate change. I'm pleased to announce the publication of the Report of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures by the Financial Stability Board (FSB). It marks a critical step in information disclosure.

In December 2015, the FSB established the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which Michael R. Bloomberg chairs and of which I work as the unique expert from China. It was asked to make recommendations on climate disclosures by FSB Chair and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, at the request of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting. It is the first industry-led effort to take on this task. With one year's effort, the Task Force made Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, which meets the requirements of consistency and comparability and is applicable to all institutions and companies across sectors and regions.

Why is this important?

Better disclosure will allow investors to make better-informed decisions on where and how they want to allocate their capital. Entities all along the financial value chain will be in a better position to evaluate climate-related risks and exposures over the short, medium, and long term. This may also enhance companies' abilities in assessing, pricing and managing climate-related risks and opportunities so that they can control risks and seize opportunities more effectively.

Since its establishment at the beginning of 2016, the Task Force has carried out continuing studies on identifying gaps between existing frameworks and the best practices of disclosure. We engaged stakeholders globally to solicit their views and get feedback on our recommendations. Ultimately, our recommendations and guidance, designed for mainstream financial filings, have four critical benefits:

They are applicable to any company in the world, at any level of complexity.

They were designed to solicit relevant information for investors and others.

They encourage the disclosure of forward-looking information through senario analysis.

They place greater emphasis on risks and opportunities related to the transition to a lower-carbon economy.

We view our recommendations as a way to improve consistency and clarity of climate-related disclosures in financial reports and enhance companies' abilities in addressing climate-related risks and opportunities. And we welcome your feedback as part of our public consultation process.

Now the hard work begins.

In order to see the global benefits of climate-related financial disclosure, adoption of the Task Force's recommendations will be critical. We believe that better information will yield more innovation, behavioral change and efficiency gains across sectors. Let's work together for better, comparable and consistent information and for more transparent disclosures.

The author is member of the TCFD and the General Manager of ICBC Risk Management Department