Regulations approved by the UK government in January 2022 require UK public interest entities (as defined in the Companies Act 2006), Alternative Investment Market (AIM) companies, banking and traded LLPs, and other UK companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) with more than £500m turnover to make climate-related financial disclosures for accounting periods beginning on or after 6 April 2022.  Companies and LLPs with 500 or fewer employees are exempt.  These new regulations therefore affect entities with a 31 December year-end for the first time in 2023.

The CFD requirements which form part of the UK Government’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR), are similar to those set out in the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations and align broadly with the four pillars of TCFD, but they are not identical. Careful consideration is required in determining the appropriate climate-related financial information to be disclosed.

In addition, most companies with a premium or standard listing of shares on the London Stock Exchange will find themselves subject to both the CFD requirements and those set out in the Listing Rules, which require disclosure consistent with the TCFD recommendations on a ‘comply or explain’ basis. Companies will need to ensure that they meet the statutory CFD requirements as well as providing the required TCFD compliance statement required under the Listing Rules. In such cases, non-binding guidance issued by the UK government states that disclosure in a manner consistent with all of the TCFD recommendations and recommended disclosures for the purposes of the Listing Rules is normally likely to meet the requirements of the CFD Regulations, provided that the disclosures are included in the annual report.  The non-binding guidance also sets out expectations as to what should be disclosed and will help in-scope entities comply with these new requirements.

This page includes a collection of our news items on the Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (CFD) Regulations.