Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to ensure that the Financial Reporting Council has in place adequate processes to monitor disclosure on climate-related risk.

Margot James

Companies are required to prepare an annual report. As part of this, companies are required to make disclosure on environmental matters containing information necessary for their shareholders to gain a proper understanding of the company’s business, including the principal risks faced by the company during the company’s previous financial year.

With their knowledge of the company, it is the directors who are best placed to assess the quality of any disclosure relating to climate change. In addition, shareholders can challenge any disclosure or its absence, including those relating to climate change, either at a meeting with the board or at the company’s Annual General Meeting, should they feel this is a key risk that needs to be addressed.