Reporting on climate-related financial risk, in compliance with SB 964

The document provides a framework for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) to report on climate-related financial risks as required by SB 964. The authors argue that reports should include specific holdings by name and align with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations. They propose a detailed reporting approach across several sectors, including energy, transportation, materials, agriculture, and financial services, emphasizing the need to disclose emissions (including Scope 3), shareholder engagement activities, and exposure to transition and physical risks.

• The authors recommend that CalPERS and CalSTRS report on the climate-related financial risk of their public market portfolios by identifying specific holdings by name, citing precedent from SB 185 regarding thermal coal divestment.
• The proposed reporting framework is based on the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) risk categories, which divide climate-related financial risk into transition risk and physical risk.
• Transition risks are identified as including regulatory, litigation, technology and market, and reputational risks, with the authors adding 'stranded asset risk' to these categories.
• Physical risks are described as those associated with acute events and long-term environmental changes.
• The authors propose a sector-specific reporting approach that requires disclosing book value, market value, and ownership percentages for holdings, as well as emissions data (specifically Scope 3 for energy and materials) and shareholder engagement results.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2019). Reporting on climate-related financial risk, in compliance with SB 964. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/EnvCA-FFCA-PERS-STRS-964_06242019.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Reporting on climate-related financial risk, in compliance with SB 964. 2019. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/EnvCA-FFCA-PERS-STRS-964_06242019.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Reporting on climate-related financial risk, in compliance with SB 964 |date=24 June 2019 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/EnvCA-FFCA-PERS-STRS-964_06242019.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2019reporting, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Reporting on climate-related financial risk, in compliance with SB 964}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2019}, month = jun, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/EnvCA-FFCA-PERS-STRS-964_06242019.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }