Managing Climate Risk: Implications and opportunities around TCFD for companies in India

The impacts of climate change are already being felt across the world at different scales and intensity. Recognising that climate change presents physical and transition risks as well as opportunities for organisations, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) was set up as a voluntary disclosure initiative, to support companies to assess and disclose the financial implications of climate change to their investors and shareholders. The underlying driver of this effort is the recognition that inadequate information about risks can lead to mispricing of assets and misallocation of capital, which can impact the financial stability of the economy.

In this context, Willis Towers Watson India organised a webinar on ‘Managing Climate Risk: Implications and Opportunities around TCFD for Companies in India’ to kickstart a conversation and deepen understanding around:

• Climate risks and opportunities to Indian businesses
• What the TCFD entails and how companies can use these recommendations to put in place systems and processes to better understand, assess, and manage the financial implications of climate risks to their businesses

The webinar drew upon experiences and opinions of a diverse set of speakers and was designed to be interactive with multiple poll questions interwoven across different sessions and a Q&A round to gauge participants’ perceptions and opinions. Speakers and panellists included:

• Saurabh Mishra, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Government of India
• Shikhar Jain, Principal Counsellor, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
• Praveen Anant, Head-Sustainability, Adani Energy Vertical
• Dr. Tony Rooke, Director, Climate and Resilience Hub (CRH), Willis Towers Watson
• Damandeep Singh, Director, Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) India
• Anu Jogesh, Associate Director, Climate and Resilience Hub, Willis Towers Watson (Moderator)

It is important to recognise that climate change is a complex and systemic issue and there are considerable challenges that companies may face in re-structuring their business processes in alignment with TCFD recommendations. However, the impact of COVID on the global economy indicates the urgent need to assess systemic risks and their short- and long-term impacts on businesses, economies and people. Climate change is a systemic risk, with deep sectoral interdependencies and largely nonlinear impacts.  In the climate related disclosure space in India, it is heartening to see that companies are gradually coming forward. Further deliberations are needed on how other companies can be brought on board to recognise and address physical and transition risks more effectively.

Several Willis Towers Watson clients have sought guidance on how to best manage and mitigate climate risks and this webinar is just the beginning of many such initiatives to share most relevant views and best practices in the climate related disclosure space from around the world.

To read the complete version, please click on the link in the DOWNLOAD section below.

For more information or to chart your organisations path towards a more climate resilient future, write to us.