Financial firms publicly reporting climate-related disclosures increased 40% since 2017 in Canada, a study by the Global Risk Institute in Financial Services (GRI) has shown.
The disclosures were in alignment with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Recommendations. The firms included major Canadian banks and pension funds.
According to a statement, the study examined trends in climate-related financial disclosure among 58 financial firms.
The TCFD Recommendations, introduced in 2017, provide a framework for companies to report climate-related governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets.
Based on the GRI study, 44% of the firms covered have included the TCFD Recommendation-aligned information in financial reports.
“Climate change related risk is both a competitive issue and a regulatory issue – the landscape is changing dramatically and the Canadian financial sector must be ready.
“As the world shifts to a low carbon economy, there will be increasing expectations, and we need to ensure that Canada’s natural resource-based economy is an asset and not a liability,” said Sonia Baxendale, President and CEO, GRI.
Baxendale said Canada has ample natural endowments that can be harnessed for clean energy and carbon capture, highly skilled professionals in the primary sector, and a sophisticated financial system. All these are necessary to be competitive in a low carbon economy, she said.
