The IPSASB received a record number of comments on its Exposure Draft (ED) – IPSASB SRS ED 1, Climate-related Disclosures. The ED proposed requirements for climate-related disclosures for an entity’s own operations and an entity’s public policy programmes. Stakeholders indicated that disclosures on own operations and public policy programmes have two different and distinct focuses and that combing them in one standard is confusing and complicates the structure of the standard.
The IPSASB recognised that the complexity of having different reporting perspectives in a single standard would not meet the needs of the public sector. As a result, the project will be split into two phases. The phased approach enables the IPSASB to address the urgent need for public sector guidance on own operations while allowing additional time to address the more complex needs shared by stakeholders in reporting on public policy programmes.
Phase 1 will focus on how public sector entities disclose climate-related risks and opportunities to their own operations. This will be the first public sector standard on sustainability reporting. The IPSASB intends to vote on a final pronouncement at its December 2025 meeting.
Phase 2 will develop a separate standard for those specific public sector entities responsible for delivering climate-related public policy programmes and their outcomes. In this phase, the IPSASB will consider stakeholders’ feedback on the proposed guidance on public policy programmes, with the aim of finalising this standard towards the end of 2026.
To follow this project, refer to the IPSASB’s Climate-related Disclosures project page.
Disclaimer
The article has been prepared by the Secretariat of the ASB for information purposes only. It has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise acted on by the Board.