The Climate Accountability Scorecard

The report evaluates the climate risk disclosure practices of several major fossil fuel companies, including Arch Coal, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, CONSOL Energy, ExxonMobil, Peabody Energy, and Royal Dutch Shell. It scores companies across four categories: regulatory risks, physical risks, market/indirect risks, and corporate governance. While most companies provide detailed analysis of regulatory risks, the report finds widespread failures in disclosing the specific role of climate change in physical risks and a near-total absence of disclosure regarding corporate governance on climate issues.

• Most evaluated companies, including Arch Coal, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and CONSOL Energy, received 'Good' scores for disclosing regulatory risks because they provided detailed analyses of existing and proposed laws and their potential financial impacts.
• There is a systemic failure among the analyzed companies to link physical risks—such as extreme weather—directly to climate change. Arch Coal, BP, Chevron, and Royal Dutch Shell were scored 'Poor' for acknowledging weather risks without identifying climate change as a contributor.
• Corporate governance disclosure regarding climate-related risks is almost entirely absent across the sampled companies. Arch Coal, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Peabody Energy received 'Egregious' scores for providing no such disclosure.
• Royal Dutch Shell provided minimal governance disclosure, noting that climate change was a key topic for its board's Corporate and Social Responsibility Committee in 2015, but it failed to describe specific climate-related governance structures.
• Companies like BP and Chevron identify market risks such as shifting consumer preferences and competition from renewable energy, but the report rates these disclosures as 'Fair' due to limited analysis of specific financial impacts.
• ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell were scored 'Poor' on regulatory risk disclosure because they mentioned general risks associated with climate laws without identifying specific regulations or effects particular to their own companies.
• Peabody Energy received the lowest overall score for fully disclosing climate risks ('Poor' -5), characterized by a lack of physical risk disclosure and broad, non-specific mentions of market risks.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2016). The Climate Accountability Scorecard. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/10/climate-accountability-scorecard-appendix-climate-risk-disclosure.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. The Climate Accountability Scorecard. 2016. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/10/climate-accountability-scorecard-appendix-climate-risk-disclosure.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=The Climate Accountability Scorecard |date=October 2016 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/10/climate-accountability-scorecard-appendix-climate-risk-disclosure.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2016climate, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{The Climate Accountability Scorecard}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2016}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/10/climate-accountability-scorecard-appendix-climate-risk-disclosure.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }