CP24/12: Consultation on the new Public Offers and Admission to Trading Regulations regime

ClientEarth's response to CP24/12 advocates for mandatory climate disclosures aligned with TCFD and ISSB standards, specifically calling for an 'atmospheric viability test' for mineral companies to prevent stranded asset risk. The organization argues against voluntary sustainability-labelled debt disclosures, urging for contractually binding commitments to prevent greenwashing, and cautions against reducing issuer liability for forward-looking climate statements.

• ClientEarth supports enhanced sustainability disclosures at the point of listing but argues that climate-related risk identification and subsequent disclosures should operate on a 'comply or explain' basis, consistent with TCFD reporting for listed companies.
• The organization recommends that the FCA align prospectus climate disclosures directly with TCFD recommendations and ISSB S2 standards to ensure consistency with periodic reporting and leverage international standards.
• ClientEarth opposes the FCA's proposal to limit the climate disclosure rule to equity securities and depositary receipts, arguing it is equally relevant to the debt market, particularly for high-carbon companies facing approximately $3.2 trillion in upcoming refinancing.
• The document argues that listing should trigger a mandatory requirement for companies to develop and disclose a 1.5°C-aligned transition plan, rather than only requiring a summary if a plan already exists.
• ClientEarth warns that designating transition plans as protected forward-looking statements (PFLS) could undermine accountability and facilitate greenwashing, as many plan deficiencies (such as omitting Scope 3 emissions) are present today and not dependent on future events.
• For 'mineral companies' (mining, oil, and gas), ClientEarth proposes a mandatory 'atmospheric viability test' to assess if reserves are consistent with remaining carbon budgets and Paris Agreement temperature goals to avoid the accumulation of 'unburnable carbon' on the London Stock Exchange.
• The organization asserts that the current Competent Person’s Report (CPR) process is 'climate-blind' and fails to integrate climate constraints into the technical assessment of reserve viability, citing the 2022 Ithaca Energy plc IPO as an example where the CPR made no reference to climate change.
• ClientEarth argues that voluntary disclosures for sustainability-labelled debt instruments are insufficient to prevent misalignment between bond frameworks and prospectuses, calling instead for contractually binding commitments and covenants.
• The response opposes the proposed flexibility for issuers of non-equity securities to use future incorporation by reference for financial information, stating this erodes investor withdrawal rights and increases greenwashing risk.

APA

ClientEarth (2024). CP24/12: Consultation on the new Public Offers and Admission to Trading Regulations regime. https://www.clientearth.org/media/awvkduii/clientearth-response-to-cp24-12-october-2024.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. CP24/12: Consultation on the new Public Offers and Admission to Trading Regulations regime. 2024. https://www.clientearth.org/media/awvkduii/clientearth-response-to-cp24-12-october-2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=CP24/12: Consultation on the new Public Offers and Admission to Trading Regulations regime |date=October 2024 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/awvkduii/clientearth-response-to-cp24-12-october-2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2024cp2412, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{CP24/12: Consultation on the new Public Offers and Admission to Trading Regulations regime}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/awvkduii/clientearth-response-to-cp24-12-october-2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }