The UK government-mandated Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) is calling on financial firms and real-economy companies to publish their transition plans this year, and is asking for input on the feature that tests out transition planning.
At an event today at the Guildhall in the City of London, TPT co-chairs Amanda Blanc (pictured), Aviva CEO, and HM Treasury Lords Minister Baroness Penn, said the TPT was there to help guide and connect firms with their transitions, and announced developments in the taskforce’s work.
These include adding new members and observers to the TPT’s delivery group, which helps develop the recommendations; a call for proposals to “accelerate new capabilities” in its testing feature; and the launch of new working groups on nature, adaptation and the just transition.
The taskforce is also going to start looking at debt and credit, the application and utility of transition plans in emerging markets and developing countries, and supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises to transition.
“I hope in 2023 we will start to see transition plans at every level – with companies, countries and international institutions setting out their routes towards a net-zero future,” Blanc said.
At COP27 last year, the TPT launched a gold standard for best practice climate transition plans by private sector firms in its disclosure framework, and also published an implantation guide to help companies, step-by-step, develop a transition plan, including when, where and how to disclose their plan.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has committed to draw on the TPT’s outputs to strengthen disclosure requirements for listed companies and regulated firms.
“Through our links with regulators internationally, we will promote global consensus around the key elements of the framework,” said Sacha Sadan, FCA director of ESG and TPT Steering group member.
“We encourage listed companies and financial services firms to engage early with the framework and accelerate their preparation of high-quality transition plans.”
The new members of the TPT’s delivery group are Diageo, SSE and Railpen. New observers are: the department for environment, food and rural affairs; the department for work and pensions; the department for business and trade; the Financial Reporting Council; and The Pensions Regulator.
“Generally, there’s no shortage of climate targets among big businesses,” noted SSE’s CSO Rachel McEwen.
“What there is, however, is a shortage of first-class action plans that deliver the targets.”
Chandra Gopinathan, senior investment manager, sustainable ownership team at Railpen added: “As part of the TPT delivery group, Railpen is excited to contribute to the development of credible, robust and investable climate transition plans. Helping to identify stewardship and investment opportunities to address systemic climate risk is of vital importance in delivering their purpose to secure their members’ futures.”
