1、Designation: E2718 10Standard Guide forFinancial Disclosures Attributed to Climate Change1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E2718; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A numbe
2、r in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. Asuperscript epsilon () indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1. Scope1.1 PurposeThe purpose of this guide is to provide aseries of options or instructions consistent with good commer-cial and customary practice fo
3、r climate change-related disclo-sures accompanying audited and unaudited financial state-ments. This guide encourages consistent and comprehensivedisclosure of financial impacts attributed to climate change.1.2 ObjectiveThe objective of this guide is to determinethe conditions warranting disclosure
4、and the content of appro-priate disclosure.2. Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2E2137 Guide for Estimating Monetary Costs and Liabilitiesfor Environmental MattersE2173 Guide for Disclosure of Environmental Liabilities3. Terminology3.1 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:3.1.1 climat
5、e changeany change in climate over timewhether due to natural variability or as a result of humanactivity. (Definition from the Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change.)3.1.2 financial impacts attributed to climate changematerial financial impacts on a companys performance,operations, assets, and l
6、iabilities attributed to climate changeeffects, including but not limited to real or expected risks ofphysical damage to facilities, regulatory costs and incentives,and shifts in the market for products and services.3.1.2.1 DiscussionIn this guide, the short form designa-tions of financial impact an
7、d impact are also used todesignate this specific concept.3.1.3 financial statement(s)include, but are not limited to,statements associated with shareholder reporting, periodicreports, registration statements, loans, mergers, acquisitions, ordivestitures. Financial statements may include statements o
8、ut-side of SEC filings.3.1.4 greenhouse gasincludes carbon dioxide, methane,nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sul-fur hexafluoride.3.1.5 materialitythe significance of an item to users of afinancial statement that considers all relevant and surroundingcircumstances. A material
9、 item is one that its omission ormisstatement is of such a magnitude in the surroundingcircumstances that either the judgment of a reasonable personrelying on the financial statement would have been changed orinfluenced by its inclusion or correction, or there is a substan-tial likelihood that the i
10、tem, after assessing the inferences, andtheir significance, drawn from the given set of facts associatedwith the financial statement, would be viewed as significantlyaltering the information made available to the investor orshareholder. (For additional information on materiality, seeGuide E2173.)3.1
11、.6 reporting entityany business or public agency pre-paring a financial statement.3.2 Acronyms and Other Abbreviations:3.2.1 FASBFinancial Accounting Standards Board3.2.2 GAAPGenerally Accepted Accounting Principles3.2.3 SECSecurities and Exchange Commission4. Significance and Use4.1 UsesThis guide
12、is intended for use on a voluntarybasis by a reporting entity that provides disclosure in itsfinancial statements regarding financial impacts attributed toclimate change. The degree and type of disclosure depends onthe scope and objective of the financial statements. This guideis intended to apply t
13、o U.S. and international operations at thediscretion of the reporting entity. The user should be aware thatthere may be contractual obligations, court decisions, orregulatory directives that may affect the flexibility in use of thisguide. The user should also maintain an awareness of interna-tional
14、regulations that may be relevant to disclosures, such asthose of the International Accounting Standards Board andInternational Financial Reporting Standards.1This guide is under the jurisdiction ofASTM Committee E50 on EnvironmentalAssessment, Risk Management and Corrective Action and is the direct
15、responsibil-ity of Subcommittee E50.05 on Environmental Risk Management.Current edition approved March 15, 2010. Published March 2010. DOI:10.1520/E271810.2For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM
16、Standards volume information, refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.1Copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.4.2 Principle:4.2.1 The following principles are an integral part of thisguide and are inte
17、nded to be referred to in resolving anyambiguity or dispute regarding the interpretation of financialdisclosures regarding financial impacts attributed to climatechange.4.2.1.1 Uncertainty Not EliminatedAlthough a reportingentity, as of the time when its financial statements are prepared,may have ev
18、aluated the existence and extent of financialimpacts attributed to climate change, there remains uncertaintywith regard to the final resolution of factual, scientific, tech-nological, regulatory, legislative, and judicial matters, whichcould affect its financial impacts attributed to climate change.
19、These uncertainties cannot be eliminated. While this standardrecommends the development of reasonable scenarios orranges to recognize and address uncertainties, it is unlikely thatall climate change uncertainties will be foreseeable. However,it is likely that some financial impacts attributed to cli
20、matechange are foreseeable and that alternatives, boundaries, orranges of potential impacts can be assessed and quantified.4.2.1.2 Comparison with Subsequent DisclosuresSubsequent disclosures that convey different information re-garding the extent or magnitude of the reporting entitysfinancial impac
21、ts attributed to climate change should not beconstrued as indicating the initial disclosures were inappropri-ate. Disclosures shall be evaluated on the reasonableness ofjudgments and inquiries made at the time and under thecircumstances in which they were made. Subsequent disclo-sures should not be
22、considered valid standards to judge theappropriateness of any prior disclosure based on hindsight,new information, use of developing analytical techniques, orother factors. However, information on trends between disclo-sure years may be of value to a user of financial statements.4.2.1.3 Not Exhausti
23、veAppropriate disclosure does notnecessarily mean an exhaustive disclosure. There is a point atwhich the cost of obtaining information or the time required togather it outweighs the usefulness of the information and, infact, may be a material detriment to the orderly preparation offinancial statemen
24、ts and the ability of readers to understand theinformation contained therein. However, all relevant and rea-sonably ascertainable information should be used to determinethe content of appropriate financial impacts attributed toclimate change.5. Determining Whether a Disclosure is Warranted5.1 Circum
25、stances Associated with Financial Impacts At-tributed to Climate Change:5.1.1 The following are examples of major circumstancesthat might give rise to financial impacts attributed to climatechange that may be subject to disclosure:5.1.1.1 Enforcement of laws or regulations regarding green-house gas
26、emission levels (for example, caps, trade systems,emission taxes), investigations, controls, resource use, technol-ogy use, compliance, reporting, and other costs attributed toclimate change. This includes predicted changes in federal,state, and local regulations that are anticipated to have amateri
27、al effect upon the capital expenditures, earnings andcompetitive position of the company and its subsidiaries, aswell as statutory and common law developments imposingliability for past emissions of greenhouse gases5.1.1.2 Predicted changes/trends in resource costs or avail-ability that may change a
28、 companys products, processes,and/or markets or services (including both positive and nega-tive impacts).5.1.1.3 Predicted changes in a companys assets due tofinancial impacts attributed to climate change, including butnot limited to changes in weather, sea levels, disease and pestlevels, drought an
29、d fires, and resource availability (for ex-ample, food, labor, energy, water).5.1.1.4 Contractual assumption of risk or risk transfer agree-ments. The most familiar forms of risk transfer agreements areinsurance contracts, hold harmless agreements, indemnityagreements, and similar terms within contr
30、acts for the transferof property or liabilities.5.1.1.5 Commencement of litigation or assertion of a claimor assessment by a party alleging legal liability related toclimate change on the part of the reporting entity.5.1.1.6 Information known by the reporting entity indicatingthat financial impacts
31、attributed to climate change have beenincurred or are likely to be incurred.5.2 Sources of InformationThis guide identifies standardsources that should be reviewed by a reporting entity toproperly determine if conditions warrant disclosure. Suchsources may include but are not limited to the followin
32、gcategories:5.2.1 Publicly Available Environmental Record SourcesAny environmental record available from a government agencyor commercial entity.5.2.2 Internal Reporting Entity RecordsThe reportingentitys internal records regarding greenhouse gas emissionsand financial impacts attributed to climate
33、change.5.2.3 Current and proposed foreign, national, state, andlocal environmental laws or rules related to climate change.5.2.4 Publicly available and internal studies on benchmark-ing, modeling, trends, and forecasts.5.3 Estimation of Financial Impact Attributed to ClimateChangeOnce a reporting en
34、tity has identified potentialfinancial impacts attributed to climate change, it shoulddetermine whether these impacts (1) have a likelihood that ismore than remote, (2) could have a severe impact that woulddisrupt the normal functioning of the entity or the entitysfinancial position, cash flows, or
35、operations, and (3) arenear-term, occurring during the next year. If these criteriaapply, the reporting entity should estimate the likelihood,magnitude, and timing of potential impacts to the entitysfinancial position, including assets, liabilities, and income. (Foradditional guidance on estimating
36、environmental costs andliabilities, see Guide E2137). Note that iIf the level ofuncertainty or the time horizon of the financial impact isdetermined to be too great to allow meaningful estimation,disclosure may still be warranted as described below in Section6.NOTE 1For longer-term financial impacts
37、 attributed to climatechange, the company should, when possible, estimate the likelihood,magnitude, and timing of potential impacts.E2718 1025.4 Estimation of MaterialityThe materiality of the finan-cial impacts attributed to climate change should be evaluatedin the aggregate to determine whether di
38、sclosure is warranted.While there currently is no bright-line or simple formulaic testfor materiality, guidelines for this analysis are provided in theappendix of Guide E2173. In general, FASB states in State-ment of Accounting Concepts No. 2 that an item is material if“the judgment of a reasonable
39、person relying on the informa-tion would have been changed or influenced by the omission ormisstatement.” The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1976 that adisclosure is material if there is “a substantial likelihood thatthe disclosure of the omitted fact would have been viewed bythe reasonable investor as
40、 having significantly altered the totalmixof information made available” or if there is “a substantiallikelihood that a reasonable shareholder would consider itimportant in deciding how to vote.”36. Content of the Disclosure Accompanying FinancialStatements6.1 Application:6.1.1 The content of the di
41、sclosures addressed by this guideare provided by management and are meant to supplement,rather than replace, the disclosure requirements as prescribedor regulated through GAAP, SEC, or any other agency orregulatory body. Disclosures may occur in many places,including but not limited to the notes and
42、 narrative text offinancial statements.6.1.2 Reporting entities should disclose the financial im-pacts attributed to climate change and the impacts of bothexisting and anticipated future regulation of greenhouse gasemissions on their business, results of operations, and financialcondition, or disclo
43、se their basis for determining that such anassessment is not warranted.6.2 Disclosures to be Made for Financial Impacts Attributedto Climate Change:6.2.1 Disclosure should be made when an entity believes itsfinancial impacts attributed to climate change in the aggregateare material. These amounts in
44、clude, but are not limited to,damages attributed to the entitys products or processes,regulatory compliance costs (including changes in resourcecosts, technology costs, distribution and transportation costs),physical costs (including asset impairments), changes in in-come due to changes in markets f
45、or products and services, andlitigation and management costs. Costs include both initialresponse costs as well as long-term costs (for example,operations and maintenance costs, changing energy costs).6.2.2 The following disclosures should be made by thereporting entity for material circumstances des
46、cribed in 6.2.1:6.2.2.1 Statement concerning managements strategic analy-sis of the companys financial impacts attributed to climatechange, including but not limited to:(1) An assessment of regulatory risks and opportunities (forexample, greenhouse gas emission limits or reduction, taxa-tion, tradin
47、g systems, resource limitations, greenhouse gasemissions allowances and/or credits),(2) An evaluation of physical risk to companys facilities(for example, asset impairment) and operations,(3) A discussion of risk/opportunities related to the report-ing entitys resources,(4) An assessment of risks re
48、lated to financing,(5) An evaluation of risks/opportunities (both positive andnegative impacts) related to the companys products or ser-vices,(6) An assessment of legal proceedings (including legisla-tive and common law developments creating new bases ofliability relating to past and future greenhou
49、se gas emmisions),(7) A discussion of the companys current managementposition on and strategic activities related to climate change,with a description of where in the corporate governancestructure the responsibility lies for addressing these issues.46.2.2.2 Relevant regulatory requirements impacting the re-porting entity should be identified, and resulting financialimpacts disclosed. There are a variety of state and regionalregulatory requirements related to climate change now inexistence (for example, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initia-tive)
