Climate change risk-related disclosures in extractive industries

Extractive industries (mining, oil and gas) are largely exposed to regulatory changes attempting to restrict climate change impact. This report explores the annual reports of extractive companies around the world to gauge how well and completely they are communicating that exposure to their investors and other stakeholders. The study examines the extent and quality of disclosures 60 of the most carbon-intensive extractive companies in their world make in their 2019 annual reports about the potential impact of climate change on their business. Overall, the findings indicate that companies’ climate change risk-related disclosures lack clarity and depth. Regarding the ‘front end’ of the annual report, although most companies make reference to the issue, not all of them provide adequate information for important topics such as their reserves, the impact of different climate change scenarios or how their business model is adjusting to that risks. The visible impact on the financial statements is scanter still. Only 10% refer to climate change when considering impairment of their assets and none acknowledge its impact on their estimates of the useful lives of the assets.