How does the research community contribute to corporate climate‐related risk disclosures? The gap between ideals and reality

Abstract

AbstractSince the inception of the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and its publication of a series of guidelines to instruct companies how to respond to climate change, physical and transition risks have become must‐know terms for businesses around the world. The development of various physical and transition risk assessment tools has become an urgent task for not only climate service companies but also for the scientific research community. Nevertheless, there is still an obvious gap between the contribution of the scientific research community and enterprise needs for clarification of the TCFD requirements. This article draws on interviews from representatives of more than a dozen related corporations and institutions in Taiwan, including private firms, research units, and industry associations, to understand and summarize their experience and expectations for the research community's contributions to TCFD alignment. The interview findings point out that physical risk assessment, transition risk assessment, data/information disclosure and integration, and policies and systems are the most concerned aspects of the interviewees. Based on these findings, the paper then provides suggestions for improvement by the research community, policy makers, and decision makers, including appropriate policies and systems, localized high‐quality climate services, and international competition, helping to effectively bridge the gap between daily research work and external expectations for the research results.