Climate change: Awareness to action

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's (APRA) climate change survey of 38 large entities, across all regulated industries, highlights the range of activities and strategic responses that entities are adopting to assess and mitigate climate change risks. This Information Paper provides insights into the responses to APRA’s survey. Regulated entities may compare the results with their own operations and assess their responses to climate change financial risks.

The survey found that a majority of regulated entities were taking steps to increase their understanding of the risk, including all authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs), general insurers and RSE licensees surveyed. One third of regulated entities viewed climate risks as material. A wide range of strategic opportunities has been identified. Climate risks are being integrated into risk management frameworks, and more sophisticated financial analysis of scenarios is gaining traction across a range of entities.

As well as outlining the results of APRA’s survey, this paper details some of the recent activity from a range of stakeholders, providing context for the global shift in the response to climate change risks. A coordinated approach to the supervision of these risks is provided through international and domestic agencies which promote consistency, and share knowledge and experiences.