Background to the report

The current and future impacts of climate change on people, the economy and the physical environment create risks that affect public and private sector organisations. The UK government has legal commitments to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and to respond to the effects of climate change. The government has an important role to play in managing climate-related risks, both in its own estates and operations and in ensuring climate resilience and decarbonisation across the economy.

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Central government is implementing new annual reporting requirements, aligned with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), to provide transparency and accountability on climate-related issues. TCFD reporting has been mandated for certain types of organisations in the UK private sector since 2021, and its primary purpose is to help investors assess companies’ resilience to climate-related risks and make informed decisions on where best to invest their money.

In central government, Parliament and other senior decision-makers similarly need practical, relevant information on climate-related risks and how they are being managed to safeguard long-term value for money. This includes ensuring the long-term resilience of public service delivery in the context of climate change, and judging where and when to invest constrained resources.

HM Treasury (HMT) is introducing TCFD-aligned disclosure requirements into central government annual reports to align climate-related reporting with the private sector. The disclosures are being phased in over three years from 2023-24, with graduated increase in the level of detail. Organisations with material climate-related risks should produce their first full set of disclosures in their 2025-26 annual reports. The UK was among the first nations globally to introduce an internationally recognised framework of climate-related disclosure into annual reporting in central government. It builds on existing reporting such as the Greening Government Commitments framework, which has been at the core of government sustainability reporting since 2011.

Scope of the report

We examined the progress central government has made implementing TCFD-aligned reporting, including an early look at the potential value it might have, and risks to its efficiency and effectiveness. This report draws out learning from the early phases of implementation, with a view to informing the phases to come. This report sets out:

  • climate-related reporting in the UK
  • progress so far implementing TCFD-aligned reporting in central government
  • the experience of central government bodies preparing TCFD-aligned reporting

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Publication details

Press release

View press release (28 Nov 2025)

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