The IFRS Foundation is taking over responsibility for transition plan disclosure resources developed by the Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT), a body set up by the UK government in 2022.
In the near term, the IFRS Foundation, which via a dedicated board is developing a slate of globally-recognised ESG reporting expectations for hoped-for wide adoption, is planning to use relevant TPT resources to develop educational materials for users and preparers of transition plans.
The Foundation said that over time it may make further use of the materials when considering the need to enhance formal application guidance within IFRS S2, the climate change-specific sustainability disclosure standard developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).
“In so doing, the ISSB will utilise these materials, as relevant, to support the provision of high-quality disclosures to meet investors’ information needs,” it said.
Private sector transition plans are gaining momentum globally, but investors have to contend with a low level of comparability and consistency in the disclosures made.
‘Milestone’
The ISSB does not require corporates to have a transition plan but to make certain disclosures if they do have such a plan, and it said that it was taking over the TPT materials to support application of its disclosure requirements and to reduce fragmentation in information provided in the market.
The TPT, whose remaining role is to support the UK’s Transition Finance Market Review over the coming months, said the IFRS Foundation’s step “marks an important milestone in the creation of global norms for transition plan disclosure”.
Amanda Blanc, Aviva Group chief executive officer and TPT co-chair, said: “Companies developing and disclosing transition plans need clear and consistent guidance.
“Today’s announcement that the ISSB will look to use the resources we have developed in the TPT is brilliant news and an important step towards greater consistency and clarity.”
The TPT disclosure framework and related guidance draws on work done by the Glasgow Finance Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ).
Mark Carney, co-chair GFANZ and UN special envoy on climate action and finance, said the ISSB’s work on could help unlock a global investment boom that could cut emissions and boost growth.
“This will only happen if companies and financial institutions consistently report credible net-zero transition plans that investors, governments, and society at large can easily compare when making decisions.”
Fragmentation risks still high
The ISSB is going to do work on developing disclosure standards on biodiversity, and today it said that it will look at how it might build from relevant initiatives, name-checking the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) recommendations from September 2023.
The IFRS Foundation also revealed that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the GHG Protocol to put in place governance arrangements so that the ISSB is actively engaged in updates and decisions made in relation to the GHG Protocol standards and guidance. IFRS S2 requires GHG emissions to be measured in accordance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard (2004), given its wide use around the world.
The creation of the ISSB involved the consolidation of several standard-setters, including the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), although ISSB chair Emmanuel Faber has warned that the board’s commitment to update the legacy SASB standards risks opening a “Pandora’s Box”. He made a similar comment in relation to the ISSB’s work with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
Lindsey Stewart, director of stewardship research and policy at Morningstar Sustainalytics said the ISSB’s work with established sustainability frameworks like the GRI as well as emerging ones like the TPT and TNFD would be welcomed news for investors who support global harmonisation of disclosure frameworks. It also helps further the ISSB’s vision of creating a global baseline for such disclosures.
“However, the risks of fragmentation remain high, with regulators in several jurisdictions indicating intentions to delay or cherry-pick implementation of ISSB standards,” he added.
“Investors and reporters can only hope that improving collaboration between the various bodies often described as the ‘alphabet soup’ will help drive better alignment of international sustainability reporting requirements in the second half of the 2020s compared with what we’ve seen in the first half.”
More than 20 jurisdictions have already decided to use or are taking steps to introduce ISSB standards in their legal or regulatory frameworks. Together, these jurisdictions account for nearly 55% of global gross domestic product and more than 40% of global market capitalisation.
The UK government has recently appointed an advisory committee to develop a ‘UK-endorsed’ version of the ISSB standards by Q1 2025.
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