What comes next: responding to recommendations from the task force on climate-related financial disclosures (TCFD)
Shiva TyagiERM, Level 15, 309 Kent Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia. Email: shiva.tyagi@erm.com
The APPEA Journal 58(2) 633-636 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ17179
Accepted: 5 April 2018 Published: 28 May 2018
Abstract
The task force on climate-related financial disclosures (TCFD) published its recommendations for disclosing climate-related risks in June 2017. The TCFD report represents a framework for companies to disclose climate-related information consistently in their mainstream financial filings. Reporting financial activity using the lens of climate-related risk would, according to the TCFD, help more appropriately price risks and allocate capital in the context of climate change. The initiative, while voluntary, would help speed the transition to a low-carbon economy, and help shift the corporate perspective beyond immediate concerns.
The oil and gas industry can play a leading role in the transition to a low carbon economy through: carbon capture and storage, use of natural gas as a transition fuel and the implementation of large-scale renewable energy projects.
Given the oil and gas industry’s global leadership in petroleum geology, resource extraction and pipeline transmission, the industry has a vital role in testing the feasibility of large-scale carbon capture and storage.
Fossil fuels and renewable energy technologies have obvious complementary synergies and fossil fuels like natural gas are necessary for the reliable, affordable and low-cost transition to a low carbon transition pathway.
The oil and gas industry may be the only sector with the requisite expertise and global scale of operations to test and implement large-scale renewable technology initiatives within a public-private partnership framework. Moreover, oil and gas companies are well positioned to be leaders in the effort to adapt and strengthen resilience to the effects and risks of climate change and reduce impacts.
Keywords: carbon tracker initiative, climate risks, disclosures, impacts, KPMG, low carbon, oil and gas, Origin Energy, risks and opportunities, Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil, Total, transition risk.
Shiva Tyagi is a partner at ERM’s performance and assurance practice. ERM is the world’s largest sustainability consultancy firm. Shiva is the power sectoral lead for ERM in Australia and New Zealand. He also leads ERM’s sustainability and climate change offerings. Shiva holds degrees in instrumentation and controls engineering, environmental management and business finance. His areas of specialisation are blow-out control prevention, crisis management, safety, mining (VAM, goaf drainage, pre-drainage, CMM, CBM and CSG), environmental compliance and energy management (with a focus on energy efficiency, cleantech and renewable energy), sustainability strategy and reporting, and fugitive emissions. |
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