China Issues Climate Disclosure Standard Aligned With ISSB, Laying Groundwork For Mandatory Corporate Reporting

China has issued its first national corporate climate disclosure standard, closely aligned with the ISSB’s IFRS S2, signaling that climate reporting will become a core part of its financial and regulatory system. Released as “Corporate Sustainable Disclosure Standard No. 1 Climate (Trial)” by the Ministry of Finance and multiple regulators, it starts as voluntary but is designed to expand from listed to non-listed firms and from large companies to SMEs, ultimately moving toward mandatory disclosure. The framework mirrors ISSB pillars (governance, strategy, risk/opportunity management, metrics and targets) but goes further by requiring disclosure of companies’ impacts on climate, not just climate-related financial risks, with sector-specific guidance already being drafted for high-emitting industries such as power, steel, cement, coal, oil and autos.
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