1. A journalist asked me about the latest report by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. Her questions are in blue, my answers in black.

    In my view, the TFCRFD is primarily a vehicle for Mr Bloomberg to stay in the limelight, and for Mr Carney to save his marriage and promote his future political career.

    My main questions are:- How important is it for companies to have data about climate change risks?

    The TFCRFD distinguishes between two risks.

    The risk of climate change is small for the companies involved. The more severe impacts of climate change are decades or more into the future; and these impacts are concentrated among the poor who are barely served by these companies.

    The risk of climate policy are small too, because emission reduction targets will be relaxed if climate policy turns out to be expensive.

    - Would it change the way they do business, in your view?

    No. But there will be photo opportunities.

    - Would suddenly releasing all this data be unproblematic, or might it cause the kind of destabilising effect Mark Carney has explicitly said he hopes to avoid?

    No. Emissions data for companies are already available if you know where to look. Climate change will impact on future, rather than current assets, and projections of future exposure are contingent and uncertain.

    - If countries do not incorporate these guidelines into law, would reporting data on climate impacts still give these companies an advantage?

    The companies involved hope to curry favour with green consumers, or at least avoid boycotts. 

    This is what she wrote.

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