Catalysed by the G20 and created by the private sector, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) is a comprehensive, practical and flexible framework for corporate disclosure of climate-related risks and opportunities.1 The demand for TCFD disclosure is now enormous. Current supporters control balance sheets totalling $ trillion and include the world’s top banks, asset managers, pension funds, insurers, credit rating agencies, accounting firms and shareholder advisory services.2 The supply of disclosure is responding, with four fifths of over 1100 top G20 companies now disclosing climate-related financial risks in line with some of the TCFD recommendations, and three quarters of users of the information seeing a marked improvement in the quality of climate disclosures.3 The next step is to make these disclosures mandatory. The UK and EU have already signalled their intents.4 It’s time for every country to get involved because the world won’t get to net zero if the financial sector doesn’t know how our companies are responding. In order to watch we must be able to see. 1  Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (June 2017) available at: https://www.fsbtcfd.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/06/FINAL-2017-TCFD-Report-11052018.pdf. 2 Full list of current TCFD supporters available at: https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/tcfdsupporters/. 3 Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures: Status Report (June 2019) available at: https://www.fsbtcfd.org/wpcontent/uploads/2019/06/2019-TCFD-Status-Report-FINAL-053119.pdf. 4 The UK has already announced in its Green Finance Strategy published in July 2019 that it expects all listed companies and large asset owners to report climate risks by 2022. A joint taskforce with UK regulators is considering the most appropriate path to mandatory disclosure.
This can best be achieved when the largest possible number of the community’s members are involved. 4  Individuals are at the same time citizens and economic subjects, thereby creating a crucial interdependency. Proper integration into a balanced economic environment is an important prerequisite for developing a sense of common purpose - in other words, identifying with society and thus also displaying a willingness to actively help shape its progress. This ultimately means that economic and social development can only progress in a sustainable and balanced way if an appropriate equilibrium can be maintained between them. 5. Even at a time when global economic and social developments are becoming more and more closely intertwined, being an integral part of a national community still plays an important role. It is still essential that these national communities should strive first and foremost to keep their own house in order - a house, though, which should not just be stable but open as well. 6. Ensuring the stability of the financial system is one of the core tasks of the supervisory authorities and of the central bank in its capacity as lender of last resort. However, the market players’ sense of individual responsibility is also of key importance. If a third party is to offer assistance in a system run on free market principles, this can and should be seen as nothing more nor less - than helping the others to help themselves. BIS Review 26/1998