Promising decision: G7 to make Climate Reporting mandatory

On June 4th, 2021, the G7 foreign and development ministers met in London, Britain, to discuss vaccine distribution and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in preparation for the main G7 summit. The discussions between the finance ministers led to a historic agreement that G7 nations will mandate climate reporting following the recommendations of the global Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). 

What does that mean for corporations and climate change reduction targets? Making corporations report climate impacts and investment decisions will make it a lot easier to track, evaluate and reduce environmental crime. In addition, the G7 also agreed to implement tax reforms, in order to ensure that multinationals pay their fair share of tax in the countries they conduct business in. 

Although there is not a set timeline for this implementation, the G20 group will also be discussing the topic, which means a decision could be made before the COP26 negotiations begin in November. 

Making climate reporting mandatory is a significant decision; by holding big corporations, banks and multinationals accountable for their emissions and the impacts they have on the environment moving forward, countries will have access to quantitative data, where they will be able to track the progress made on GHG reductions, identify which sectors require more restrictions or are on track to meet the Paris Agreement’s goals. 

Here in Halton, we have our work cut out for us as The Atmospheric Fund Reality Check report emphasizes that “the GTHA is clearly not on track to achieve 2030 and 2050 climate targets…” According to the report, emissions in the GTHA have increased by 5.2% since 2018, with most of the emissions generated from buildings (infrastructure) and transportation.

You can read more about the decision here and discover how BurlingtonGreen is collaborating with the community to take action on climate change here in Burlington, by visiting our social media platforms and signing up to receive our monthly e-newsletters.