FRC failures are increasing risks for investors

The FRC is criticized for an 'oversight and enforcement gap' regarding climate-related financial risk, evidenced by its handling of complaints against oil and gas companies and its resistance to TCFD recommendations. These failures are compounded by structural weaknesses in the FRC's governance, transparency, and accountability, including a lack of a clear legislative basis and limited accountability to Parliament and the public.

• The FRC has demonstrated an 'excessively permissive regulator stance' regarding the reporting of climate-related financial risks. This is illustrated by the FRC closing investigations into SOCO International Plc and Cairn Energy PLC without taking a view on whether they breached reporting requirements, despite complaints that their strategic reports failed to provide a 'fair review of the company’s business' or a 'proper description of the principal risks and uncertainties'.
• The FRC is described as being 'broadly resistant' to the general intent of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations. This position contrasts with other UK financial regulators, such as the Bank of England, and the BEIS climate change minister who has 'officially endorsed' the recommendations.
• Significant structural weaknesses inhibit the FRC's governance and accountability, including the fact that its 'functions and structure are not explicitly set out in legislation'. Other identified weaknesses include an informal Memorandum of Understanding with BEIS, limited formal accountability to Parliament regarding corporate reports, and restricted public access to information compared to other financial regulators.

APA

ClientEarth (2017). FRC failures are increasing risks for investors. https://www.clientearth.org/media/52lknzo3/clientearth-investor-briefing-frc-failures-are-increasing-risks-for-investors-ce-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. FRC failures are increasing risks for investors. 2017. https://www.clientearth.org/media/52lknzo3/clientearth-investor-briefing-frc-failures-are-increasing-risks-for-investors-ce-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=FRC failures are increasing risks for investors |date=17 October 2017 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/52lknzo3/clientearth-investor-briefing-frc-failures-are-increasing-risks-for-investors-ce-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2017frc, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{FRC failures are increasing risks for investors}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2017}, month = oct, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/52lknzo3/clientearth-investor-briefing-frc-failures-are-increasing-risks-for-investors-ce-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }