Accountants lobby for green convergence

Accountancy bodies worldwide have joined together with the Climate Disclosure Standards Board and The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project to lobby for a single set of globally accepted standards on carbon reporting.

The groups are calling for the creation of an independent, stakeholder-led standard-setting body, which will be accountable to public authorities and will be given the task of developing the standards.

In a letter to the political leaders set to attend the Copenhagen summit on climate change this week, the signatories are urging that governments and businesses align their actions in order to make an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 achievable.

Policymakers are being called on to build on and refine current climate change initiatives and to develop a single set of universally accepted standards on carbon disclosures in financial reports.

Companies are already due to be hit with a mandatory emissions trading scheme – the Carbon Reduction Commitment - in April 2010, which will see finance directors responsible for reporting on their organisation’s carbon output.

Michael Izza, chief executive of the ICAEW, said: ‘We believe that a single reporting standard for climate change-related disclosure related to financial performance and mainstream financial reports is only the beginning of the process that will promote the provision of more trusted, accurate and reliable information to investors and stakeholders enabling them to make better decisions and drive the scale of behavioural change necessary to achieve a low carbon economy.’

Steve Freer, chief executive of the ACCA, agreed: ‘Accountants can play a key role in developing and implementing standards for reducing greenhouse gases – a central aim of Copenhagen. Unless clear universal standards are adopted the plan to reduce global warming will be in jeopardy.’

Those who have signed the letter include:

•Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)

•The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project

•The Climate Disclosure Standards Board

•American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

•Association of Chartered Certified Accountants

•Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants

•Chartered Accountants Ireland

•Chartered Institute of Management Accountants

•Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy

•CPA Australia

•Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants

•Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia

•Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland

•Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants

•South African Institute of Chartered Accountants