The IASB has launched its project on climate change risks in financial statements

On 21 September 2023, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) decided to explore various ways of improving the presentation of information on climate change risks and other uncertainties in the financial statements.

Over the last few years, the IASB has been told that climate change risks are often considered to be very low risks in the long term and may therefore not be adequately taken into account in the financial statements, and that users therefore need better qualitative and quantitative information about the impact of climate change risks on the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities presented in the financial statements.

In March 2023, the IASB added a project on climate change risks in financial statements to its work programme. The first deliberations on this project took place this week. The IASB has concluded that the outcome of this project could be the development of educational material, examples and targeted amendments to IFRS accounting standards to improve the application of existing requirements. The staff will work closely with the ISSB staff to facilitate collaboration between the work of the IASB and the ISSB. The IASB will also continue to monitor developments and decide whether to take further action.