Raising the Bar: Managing climate change risk in public authorities

Raising the Bar: Managing Climate Change Risk in Public Authorities is a report from the Centre for Policy Development’s Sustainable Economy Program.

It recommends that clear, transparent policy direction be provided to public authority directors. This can enable them to contribute to a whole-of-government picture of climate risk that meets and raises the standards that apply to all organisations, public and private, in discovering, disclosing and addressing climate risk.

Raising the Bar examines the legal and practical aspects of how directors’ duties in public authorities and government-owned corporations (GOCs) apply in relation to climate risk, and makes six recommendations for best practice.

Give clear and transparent policy direction through ministerial statements
Standardise the technical frameworks for risk assessment, particularly around financial risk disclosure, for example by adapting the private sector framework from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure
Create a whole-of-government picture of climate risk exposure
Leverage audit offices’ authority to consider climate change risks among government agencies and/or public authorities
Invest in building capability and capacity
Influence private sector take-up of climate change risk reporting