IPSASB sets a climate disclosure benchmark for the public sector
For years, governments have been central to climate action, yet public sector reporting has lagged behind the private sector when it comes to consistent, decision-useful climate disclosures. Climate risks are real, long-term and often material to public finances, but guidance on how to report them has been fragmented at best. That gap has now been decisively addressed.
Recently, the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) issued IPSASB SRS 1, Climate-related Disclosures, the first global sustainability reporting standard designed specifically for governments and public sector entities. Developed with support from the World Bank, the standard aims to bring clarity, consistency and comparability to how climate-related risks and opportunities are disclosed in public sector financial reporting.
IPSASB SRS 1 sets out requirements for inclusion in general purpose financial reports, applying for annual periods beginning on or after January 2028, with early adoption permitted. Importantly, the standard is aligned with IFRS S2, strengthening coherence between public and private sector reporting and making climate information more usable for lenders, investors and other resource providers.
Governments are major economic actors, capital market participants and, in many cases, significant contributors to global emissions. Structured, comparable climate data improves accountability and supports better public financial management.
As jurisdictions move towards implementation, digitalisation will be the key that turns these disclosures into data that can be analysed, compared and reused at scale.
More details, including access to the standard and upcoming implementation webinars, are available on the IPSASB website.
