COP21: Michael Bloomberg to chair Financial Stability Board’s climate/finance taskforce

Media mogul and former Mayor of the City of New York Michael Bloomberg will chair the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) new industry-led disclosure taskforce on climate-related financial risk, FSB chair Mark Carney announced today at the COP21 Paris Climate Change Conference.

The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) will develop voluntary, consistent, climate-related financial risk disclosures for use by companies in providing information to lenders, insurers and investors.

It will conduct its work in two stages. During the first stage, the Task Force will consist of 10 individuals, who will determine the scope and high-level objectives for its work by mid-2016.

During the second stage, the Task Force’s work is likely to be expanded to include up to 30 individuals, focused on delivering specific recommendations for voluntary disclosures principles and leading practices, with a view to complete its work by end-2016.

FSB chair Carney, who is also Governor of the Bank of England, said: “Access to high quality financial information will allow market participants and policymakers to understand and better manage those risks, which are likely to grow with time. Michael’s experience working on climate change issuers…. and his lifelong commitment to open and transparent financial markets make him the ideal leader for the task force.”Bloomberg, who is the United Nations Secretary-General Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change and chair of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), said: “It is critical that industries and investors understands the risks posed by climate change, but currently there is too little transparency about those risks. When Governor Carney laid out the idea for a Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures I offered him my full support to help make it a success.”

The move by the FSB has been warmly welcomed. Fiona Reynolds, managing director of the PRI, said: “In the past, investors were content to let governments act; now, we are seeing a real shift, with investors being much more proactive and taking the lead in urging governments, policymakers and other stakeholders to take action on climate change.”

The FSB, established in 2009, monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system and its members include the central banks and finance ministries of the G20 countries as well as bodies like the IMF, OECD and international standards-setting organisations.

The creation of the taskforce is in response to a request by the G20 in April to review how the financial sector can take account of climate- related issues. Link