UNITED KINGDOM: FCA’s new rules on climate-related disclosures to help investors, clients and consumers

Friday December 17 2021

The FCA has published two Policy Statements confirming final rules and guidance to promote better climate-related financial disclosures.

Better corporate disclosures will help inform market pricing and support business, risk and capital allocation decisions. And improved disclosures to clients and consumers will help them make more informed financial decisions. This, in turn, will strengthen competition in the interests of consumers, protecting them from buying unsuitable products and driving investment towards greener projects and activities.

Issuers of standard listed shares, or equity shares represented by certificates (global depositary receipts) must now include a statement in their annual financial reports setting out whether their disclosures meet the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). If they don’t, they’ll need to explain why.

FCA-regulated asset managers and asset owners – including life insurers and pension providers – will have to disclose how they take climate-related risks and opportunities into account in managing investments. They’ll also have to make disclosures about the climate-related attributes of their products.

The rules will come into effect from 1 January 2022. Asset managers and asset owners will have a phased implementation, with the rules initially applying to the largest firms and coming into effect for smaller firms one year later.

The FCA is at the vanguard of a now-growing number of regulators globally who are adopting the TCFD’s recommendations in their disclosure rules. The FCA are the first securities regulator to introduce mandatory TCFD-aligned disclosure requirements for asset managers and asset owners.

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