Climate change continues to be an area of specific focus for in­vestors, reg­u­lat­ors and other busi­ness stake­hold­ers who are increasingly de­mand­ing better dis­clos­ures on climate change matters and chal­len­ging com­pan­ies who are not factor­ing the effects of climate change into their crit­ical ac­count­ing judge­ments. Investors want:

• to see how the impacts of climate change have been reflected in the measurement and recognition of assets and liabilities;
• more transparency on the assumptions used and sensitivities to those assumptions; and
• to be confident that there is consistency between climate scenarios included in the narrative in the front end of the annual report and the numbers disclosed in the financial statements.

Recently investors have set out their expectations for Paris-aligned accounts - accounts that adequately reflect the impact of getting to net zero emissions by 2050 for assets, liabilities, profits and losses. Additionally the UK Government has announced the intention to make Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) aligned disclosures fully mandatory across the economy by 2025. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has committed to introduce TCFD for premium listed companies in 2021 and to consult in the first half of 2021 on extending the scope of these rules, including for asset managers, life insurers and pension providers.

During the year the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published a thematic review of climate-related considerations by boards, companies, auditors and professional bodies and investors. This highlighted that corporate reporting needs to improve to meet the expectations of investors and other users on the urgent issue of climate change. The FRC will continue to focus on the disclosure of climate-related risks within annual reports as a priority area for 2020/21 and highlights in its Annual Report that it aims to “support the Government’s green finance strategy to embed climate-related issues into corporate reporting and investment decision making”.

The FRC’s year-end letter to Audit Committee Chairs and Finance Directors and the climate thematic review set out its reporting expectations for the coming year.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has also announced that it will focus on disclosure of risks related to climate change as part of its enforcement priorities for 2020 financial statements. The IFRS Foundation has published educational material to highlight how existing requirements in IFRS Standards require companies to consider climate-related matters when their effect is material to the financial statements.

This UK Accounting plus page in­cludes our climate-related re­sources to assist com­pan­ies.  It includes links to:

• Climate change related news
• Climate change publications
• Deloitte's climate change website which includes a suite of learning videos, interviews with people driving climate action, and a library of links to further resources and guidance.