Publication: Sovereign Climate and Nature Reporting: Proposal for a Risks and Opportunities Disclosure Framework
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2022-01-31
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2022-01-31
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The purpose of this report is to raise awareness and initiate a discussion on the need for sovereign sustainability reporting. The proposed sovereign climate and nature reporting framework would assist sovereigns looking to attract investment by enabling them to produce comprehensive, regular, standardized, and, eventually, forward-looking disclosures of their climate- and nature related risks and opportunities. Sovereign reporting would help meet the needs of investors who are increasingly requesting such disclosures for all asset classes in their portfolios so that they can measure portfolio alignment with the Paris Agreement. This report discusses five fundamental questions regarding sovereign climate and nature reporting: (a) why is a sovereign reporting framework needed;(b) what is required to develop a reporting framework for sovereigns; (c) how is materiality important in driving a reporting framework for sovereigns; (d) what is the potential for unintended consequences; and (e) what are the recommended next steps to develop and implement a reporting framework for sovereigns Sovereign reporting needs its own approach and framework. A customized approach suited to the specifics of sovereign reporting is recommended. This could build on the core elements and underlying principles of existing corporate-focused frameworks such as the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). Other frameworks such as context-based performance accounting and reporting frameworks and environmental economic approaches could also be drawn upon, such as the UN System for Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA) framework. Annex A to this report presents a draft example of a sovereign climate and nature risk and opportunities reporting framework as a starting point for discussion (noting that it is not intended as a fully developed template or blueprint).
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“World Bank. 2022. Sovereign Climate and Nature Reporting: Proposal for a Risks and Opportunities Disclosure Framework. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36894 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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