Sovereign climate and nature reporting: Proposal for a risks and opportunities disclosure framework

The purpose of this report is to raise awareness and initiate a discussion on the need for sovereign sustainability reporting. The proposed sovereign climate and nature reporting framework would assist sovereigns looking to attract investment by enabling them to produce comprehensive, regular, standardized, and, eventually, forward-looking disclosures of their climate- and nature related risks and opportunities. Sovereign reporting would help meet the needs of investors who are increasingly requesting such disclosures for all asset classes in their portfolios so that they can measure portfolio alignment with the Paris Agreement.

This report discusses five fundamental questions regarding sovereign climate and nature reporting: (a) why is a sovereign reporting framework needed;(b) what is required to develop a reporting framework for sovereigns; (c) how is materiality important in driving a reporting framework for sovereigns; (d) what is the potential for unintended consequences; and (e) what are the recommended next steps to develop and implement a reporting framework for sovereigns Sovereign reporting needs its own approach and framework.