Progress report on UK-China climate and environmental disclosure pilot

The PRI and six signatories are participating in a UK and Chinese government-backed pilot on climate-related and environmental risk disclosure. This initiative and was announced at the ninth UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue in December 2017.

The pilot is a three-year initiative, with 10 financial institutions, representatives from the People’s Bank of China and the Bank of England, the City of London and the Principles of Responsible Investment. It seeks to support enhanced information disclosure practice in both countries.

Objectives

The purpose of the pilot is to:

establish a platform for peer exchange on climate and environmental risk disclosures between UK and Chinese financial institutions;
raise awareness of the materiality of climate and environmental risk factors and build capacity in both countries; and
pilot disclosures against an agreed action plan on an annual basis before the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue.

Since the announcement, pilot participants have met several times and in the process developed a joint three-year action plan. Each side is free to determine the details of their own plan, with the intention that each year will build on the last.

Highlights from the first year:

11 case studies, with all pilot participants having submitted case studies for the report;
this represents the first time Chinese banks have publicly disclosed against some environmental key performance indicators; and
UK participants’ case studies provide examples of a multi-year implementation process, governance disclosures, corporate engagement, carbon footprinting and use of scenario planning.