Essay by Eric Worrall
Companies in Australia are being warned they shouldn’t play down climate risks. For once I agree with the green regulators.
Warning to Aussie firms on mandatory climate reporting
By Marion Rae
Updated July 26 2024 – 11:16AM, first published 11:12AMAlmost one in five of Australia’s top 200 companies are providing very little reporting on their climate risks ahead of the implementation of mandatory disclosure.
The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors report released on Friday found the majority of ASX200 members have net-zero commitments and most have also set interim targets, which helps investors to gauge the credibility of a company’s plans.
But gaps remain in the depth and scope of climate reporting, with some companies only partially reporting on their climate risks and 18 per cent doing almost nothing.
…
More than 6000 entities will be required to report under new climate-related disclosure requirements in the next few years, with critics concerned about the cost of more green tape for business.
…
Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8708681/warning-to-aussie-firms-on-mandatory-climate-reporting/
For now most companies appear to be trying to avoid putting bad news in their company reports, apparently glossing over the required climate reporting risks, using qualitative language instead of quantitatively applying the latest “science”.
But what would happen if companies did the opposite? Took the wildest, most extreme IPCC projections, and reported in their prospectus there was nothing they could do to prevent the irreversible destruction of their companies? What if they told investors should be aware in 10 years or (pick a number) the company will no longer exist due to the ravages of climate change? That they intend to take no action to avert this risk, because no meaningful action is possible, due to rising emissions in China, India and Africa?
This would put the spotlight on the scientists making those predictions, not the companies reporting imminent climate catastrophe.
Because none of those predictions are true. We’ve already experienced almost two centuries of global warming, and nothing bad has happened. Year after year we see climate doomsday predictions expire with none of the calamities they predicted coming to pass.
By taking all these wild predictions literally, and putting the scariest possible prognosis in company reports, companies will not only avoid prosecution for non-compliance with absurd climate reporting laws, they will expose the most ridiculously extreme climate predictions to more public scrutiny – and in doing so will do everyone, including themselves, a big service.
Related
