CFRF Publishes Guides to Manage Financial Risks from Climate Change
The working groups of the Climate Financial Risk Forum (CFRF) published a second round of guides (or Session 2 guides), written by the industry for the industry, to help financial firms manage climate-related financial risks. CFRF is an industry forum jointly convened by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The guides, which build on a guide that was published in June 2020, focus on risk management, scenario analysis, disclosure, innovation, and climate data and metrics. Various CFRF working groups have published ten different outputs in total.
The key outputs from the CFRF working groups, also known as the Session 2 guides, can be summarized as follows:
- The Risk Management Working Group (RMWG) has developed guides on developing climate risk appetite statements and risk management use cases. Additionally, the Risk Management Working Group has produced a paper that summarizes a firm’s training needs for climate risks and opportunities and how they could be delivered as a coherent syllabus.
- The Scenario Analysis Working Group (SAWG) has produced practical examples on how firms can incorporate sector specific points when developing an effective approach to scenario analysis. The Scenario Analysis Working Group will publish a publicly available online scenario analysis tool in the first quarter of 2022. The tool will be designed for use by smaller firms who may not have the experience or resources to attempt independently. The idea of the tool is that firms would input some basic information regarding their business activities, products, or risks into the tool, to then output a narrative description of climate risks and opportunities.
- The Disclosure Working Group (DWG) has collated a number of case studies on disclosure from a variety of organizations that will be of interest to firms as they develop their approach to climate-related disclosures. The Working Group has also produced guidance highlighting the legal risks associated with publishing a climate-related disclosure and how these risks can be effectively managed.
- The Innovation Working Group (IWG) has focused on identifying and sharing practical opportunities to mobilize financial capital and steward an economy-wide transition to meet climate targets and the resultant briefing paper highlights the key points. Additionally, the Innovation Working Group have produced a set of seven short films highlighting innovative approaches to mobilizing finance in support of the transition to net-zero.
- CFRF published a guide on climate data and metrics which recommends five areas where climate-related metrics could be employed: transition risks, physical risks, portfolio decarbonization, mobilizing transition finance, and engagement. The first part of the report provides detail on each of these areas. The second part focusses on implementation and provides practical guidance and support on convergence towards a set of common and consistent climate metrics.
Many of the Session 2 guides will help firms accelerate their efforts in responding effectively to climate-related financial risks and opportunities. In particular, the risk appetite statements, scenario analysis guide, disclosure case studies, and the climate data and metrics dashboard have been deliberately designed to enable firms to overcome the significant challenges that they have encountered in embedding climate risk management in their organizations. The Innovation report provides commentary on actionable innovation opportunities to mobilize financial capital and help steward the economy to net zero.
Related Links
Keywords: Europe, UK, Banking, Insurance, Securities, Climate Change Risk, ESG, Disclosures, Scenario Analysis, Risk Appetite, CFRF, Stress Testing, FCA, PRA
Featured Experts

James Partridge
Credit analytics expert helping clients understand, develop, and implement credit models for origination, monitoring, and regulatory reporting.

Emil Lopez
Credit risk modeling advisor; IFRS 9 researcher; data quality and risk reporting manager

Nihil Patel
Data scientist; SaaS product designer; credit portfolio analyst and product strategist; portfolio modeler; correlation researcher
Previous Article
BIS to Launch Asian Green Bond Fund Early Next YearRelated Articles
EBA Finalizes Templates for One-Off Climate Risk Scenario Analysis
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published the final templates, and the associated guidance, for collecting climate-related data for the one-off Fit-for-55 climate risk scenario analysis.
EBA Mulls Inclusion of Environmental & Social Risks to Pillar 1 Rules
The European Banking Authority (EBA) recently published a report that recommends enhancements to the Pillar 1 framework, under the prudential rules, to capture environmental and social risks.
BCBS Consults on Disclosure of Crypto-Asset Exposures of Banks
As a follow on from its prudential standard on the treatment of crypto-asset exposures, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) proposed disclosure requirements for crypto-asset exposures of banks.
BCBS and EBA Publish Results of Basel III Monitoring Exercise
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the European Banking Authority (EBA) have published results of the Basel III monitoring exercise.
PRA Updates Timeline for Final Basel III Rules, Issues Other Updates
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) recently issued a few regulatory updates for banks, with the updated Basel implementation timelines being the key among them.
US Treasury Sets Out Principles for Net-Zero Financing
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has recently set out the principles for net-zero financing and investment.
EC Launches Survey on G7 Principles on Generative AI
The European Commission (EC) launched a stakeholder survey on the draft International Guiding Principles for organizations developing advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
ISSB Sustainability Standards Expected to Become Global Baseline
The finalization of the two sustainability disclosure standards—IFRS S1 and IFRS S2—is expected to be a significant step forward in the harmonization of sustainability disclosures worldwide.
IOSCO, BIS, and FSB to Intensify Focus on Decentralized Finance
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is expected to increase in prominence, finding traction in use cases such as lending, trading, and investing, without the intermediation of traditional financial institutions.
BCBS Assesses NSFR and Large Exposures Rules in US
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) published reports that assessed the overall implementation of the net stable funding ratio (NSFR) and the large exposures rules in the U.S.