Our Canadian partner, the Canada Climate Law Initiative, has produced a paper on ‘Following the Footpath to Mandatory TCFD Disclosure in the United Kingdom: Lessons for Canadian and Other Regulators’.

Regulators in Canada and elsewhere are considering regulatory changes to accelerate the transition towards net-zero carbon emissions. Part of that consideration is whether to adopt the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) four pillar framework of governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets. We can learn from regulators that have already adopted measures, in particular, the recent activities of the United Kingdom (UK) Government. The UK Government is committed to mandatory climate-related TCFD-aligned disclosures across the UK economy over a five-year period, including: listed commercial companies, UK-registered companies, banks and building societies, insurance companies, asset managers, and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-regulated pension schemes.

This briefing note, current to May 2021, highlights the policy rationales for moving to mandatory TCFD-aligned disclosure, sets out the paths the UK Government is taking to make disclosure mandatory across the economy, and raises important considerations for regulators in Canada and elsewhere.