31 October, 2017: Update – 16 banks now form the UNEP FI TCFD pilot project.

11 July, 2017

Eleven of the world’s leading banks announced on 11 July, 2017 that they will work together with UNEP FI to develop analytical tools and indicators to strengthen their assessment and disclosure of climate-related risks and opportunities.

Following the late June publication of the final recommendations by the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the banks not only welcome the recommendations but have also declared their intention to jointly pioneer practical approaches to implementing this ground-breaking, forward-looking framework. Increasing the amount of reliable information on financial institutions’ exposure to climate-related risks and opportunities will strengthen the stability of the financial system, and facilitate financing the transition to a more stable and sustainable economy.

Representing over $ 7 trillion, the TCFD pilot group includes the following UNEP FI banking members: ANZ, Barclays, Bradesco, Citi, Itaú, National Australia Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Santander, Standard Chartered, TD Bank Group and UBS. As part of this UNEP FI-led project, the banks will work together to assess how they can best adopt key elements of the Mark Carney – Michael Bloomberg Task Force recommendations, which were submitted to the G20 in early July.

“The message from financial heavyweights is clear – climate change poses a real and serious threat to our economy,” said Head of UN Environment, Erik Solheim. “At the same time, there are enormous business opportunities in taking climate action. Transparency on how financial institutions mitigate the risks and seize the opportunities of a two degrees pathway is crucial to move international markets towards actively supporting a low-carbon and climate-resilient future.”

The recommendations are welcomed by financial institutions and civil society alike, as the role of the finance sector in meeting the Paris Climate Agreement’s goals becomes increasingly clear. This first mover project to implement the recommendations puts the eleven UN Environment Finance Initiative’s members in the vanguard of this effort. Its results will be made public to encourage banks worldwide to adopt the scenarios, models and approaches developed.

UPDATE: As of 31 July 2017, Norway’s DNB is twelfth leading bank to join UNEP FI’s TCFD implementation pilot project. Read more here.

UPDATE: As of 5 September 2017, Rabobank is the thirteenth leading bank to join UNEP FI’s TCFD implementation pilot project. Read more here.

UPDATE: As of 26 September 2017, BBVA is the fourteenth leading bank to join UNEP FI’s TCFD implementation pilot project. Read more here.

UPDATE: As of 17 October, 2017, at UNEP FI’s Europe Regional Roundtable, it was announced that BNP Paribas and Société Générale are joining the TCFD pilot project.

 

Read the UN Environment press release on the TCFD Pilot Project here.

Read the UN News Centre article here.

Read the ONU Brazil article here.

Read the UBS news article here.

Read the ONU Meio Ambiente note here.

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The Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) was set up in 2015 by the Financial Stability Board to develop voluntary, consistent climate-related financial risk disclosures for use by companies in providing information to investors, lenders, insurers, and other stakeholders. The Task Force is mandated by Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England and Chairman of the FSB, and chaired by Michael Bloomberg. The final recommendations were published in late June 2017 and submitted to the G20 in early July 2017.

Visit the TCFD website here and read the Final Recommendations Report here.

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Background Material

Read UNEP FI’s Remco Fischer on collaborating on climate disclosure in Responsible Investor’s ESG magazine here. The publication is now free to air, just register to read the magazine online.

For more information on the TCFD initiative including relevant UNEP FI reports, please view our December 2016 post here.

Read UNEP FI’s key recommendations to the Task Force from February 2017 here.

In addition, UNEP FI members have access to past webinars on the Task Force’s recommendations available on the members’ extranet.