The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published for comment proposed climate-related disclosure requirements for Canadian issuers. They say the requirements will improve the comparability of the information issuers disclose and help investors make more informed investment decisions. 

“We recognize some issuers already share certain climate-related information,” says Louis Morisset, CSA Chair and President and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers. “Our proposed requirements will bring those disclosures into a harmonized framework.” He adds that the move will align Canadian capital markets with the global movement towards consistent and comparable standards.

According to the CSA Notice and Request for Comment Proposed National Instrument 51-107 Disclosure of Climate-related Matters, issuers would be required to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and the related risks or state their reasons for not doing so.

“With global momentum building on sustainability-related disclosures in both the public and private sectors, these proposals reflect our vision and expectations for reporting issuers as we move towards a global baseline for such disclosures,” Morisset adds.

“Since the publication of CSA Staff Notice 51-358 Reporting of Climate Change-related Risks in August 2019, the CSA have continued to follow developments in relation to climate-related disclosure,” the consultation documents state. “Separately, the 2021 Ontario Budget, released on March 24, 2021, discussed Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) disclosure requirements, and stated that the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) would begin policy work to inform further regulatory consultation on ESG disclosure. The CSA are publishing proposed National Instrument 51-107 Disclosure of Climate-related Matters and its companion policy for a 90-day comment period. The proposed instrument would introduce disclosure requirements regarding climate-related matters for reporting issuers, other than investment funds.” 

The CSA adds that it believes the requirements will provide clarity to issuers on the information required to be disclosed and facilitate consistency and comparability among issuers. Specifically, the requirements are intended to improve issuer access to global capital markets, assist investors, create an equal playing field for all issuers and remove the costs associated with reporting under multiple disclosure frameworks.

“It is not anticipated that the proposed instrument will come into force prior to December 31, 2022,” they add. Comments should be submitted in writing to the CSA’s member regulators by January 17, 2022.