About
The challenge we’re addressing
Climate change poses both risks and opportunities for business, now and in the future. As the Earth’s temperature rises, increasingly common natural disasters are disrupting ecosystems and human health, causing unanticipated business losses, and threatening assets and infrastructure. In response, governments and private sector entities are considering a range of options for reducing global emissions, which could result in disruptive changes across economic sectors and regions in the near term.
Currently, however, investors, lenders, and insurers don’t have a clear view of which companies will endure or even flourish as the environment changes, regulations evolve, new technologies emerge, and customer behavior shifts — and which companies are likely to struggle.
Without reliable climate-related financial information, financial markets cannot price climate-related risks and opportunities correctly and may potentially face a rocky transition to a low-carbon economy, with sudden value shifts and destabilizing costs if industries must rapidly adjust to the new landscape.
Our goal
The Financial Stability Board established the TCFD to develop recommendations for more effective climate-related disclosures that could promote more informed investment, credit, and insurance underwriting decisions and, in turn, enable stakeholders to understand better the concentrations of carbon-related assets in the financial sector and the financial system’s exposures to climate-related risks.
The TCFD is committed to market transparency and stability. We believe that better information will allow companies to incorporate climate-related risks and opportunities into their risk management and strategic planning processes. As this occurs, companies’ and investors’ understanding of the financial implications associated with climate change will grow, empowering the markets to channel investment to sustainable and resilient solutions, opportunities, and business models.
Our work
In 2017, the TCFD released climate-related financial disclosure recommendations designed to help companies provide better information to support informed capital allocation.
Our disclosure recommendations are structured around four thematic areas that represent core elements of how organizations operate: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets. These thematic areas are intended to interlink and inform each other.
We’re currently engaged in helping companies implement the recommendations and promoting advancements in the availability and quality of climate-related disclosure.
Task Force members
The Task Force consists of 31 members from across the G20, representing both preparers and users of financial disclosures. The TCFD is chaired by Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P.
Task Force members provide an introduction to the TCFD.
History
October 2020 2020 status report
The TCFD releases its 2020 Status Report, which describes the progress companies are making in the implementing the TCFD recommendations.
February 2020 1,000+ supporters
The number of TCFD supporters surpasses 1,000, signifying a major shift among market participants in acknowledging that climate change presents a financial risk.
October 2019 Inaugural TCFD Summit
The government of Japan hosts the first-ever TCFD Summit in Tokyo.
June 2019 Second status report
In 2019, the Task Force releases its second status report and forms an industry advisory group to assist in developing practical guidance for conducting climate scenario analysis.
April 2019 Central bank support
The Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), a group of 72 central banks and supervisors, encourages companies to disclose climate risks in line with the TCFD recommendations.
September 2018 First status report
The TCFD publishes its first status report on current disclosure practices, sharing investor perspectives on decision-useful disclosures and areas for improvement.
May 2018 TCFD Knowledge Hub
The TCFD launches the TCFD Knowledge Hub in collaboration with the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB).
June 2017 TCFD recommendations released
After issuing a series of draft reports, the Task Force releases its final climate-related financial disclosure recommendations, which promote transparency leading to better climate-risk management. One hundred CEOs sign a statement of support for the TCFD.
December 2016 Draft recommendations released
The TCFD issues draft recommendations for climate-related financial disclosure, inviting public feedback during a 60-day consultation period.
January 2016 TCFD members announced
The FSB selects an initial group of 29 representatives from various organizations, including large banks, insurance companies, asset managers, pension funds, large non-financial companies, accounting and consulting firms and credit rating agencies. The Task Force begins its work.
December 2015 TCFD created
The Financial Stability Board, under former Chair and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, establishes the Task Force to help identify the information needed by investors, lenders, and insurance underwriters to appropriately assess and price climate-related risks and opportunities.
April 2015 FSB considers climate
The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors ask the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to review how the financial sector can take account of climate-related issues. As part of its review, the FSB identifies the need for better information to support informed investment, lending, and insurance underwriting decisions and improve understanding and analysis of climate-related risks.