The submission noted that the guidance is a useful starting point, but that it is not sufficient by itself to meet mandatory climate disclosure requirements.

We recommended a clearer explanation of these limitations, as well as more practical support in applying scenarios to business impacts.

The Institute has responded to the International Actuarial Association’s Exposure Draft of the proposed International Actuarial Note (IAN) 200 on IFRS S2 Climate Related Disclosures. We are broadly supportive and have asked for clearer guidance on particular topics such as materiality, qualitative service design, and outsourced service providers.

We also noted recent amendments to insurance-related emissions by the ISSB. The review was a cross-practice collaborative effort incorporating views from CSPC, RMPC, LIPC and GIPC.

We encourage all members working in, or curious about, climate and sustainability to explore both the Climate and Sustainability Resource Centre and the Climate & Sustainability Learning Resource. The Learning Resource includes an introductory course on actuarial contributions in this practice area.

Meanwhile, the Resource Centre offers general references and supporting materials, including the Institute’s Public Policy Statement on climate change, CSPC newsletters and key papers from government, industry associations, and international actuarial bodies.

The Institute’s 2026-27 Pre-Budget Submission highlights five critical areas to strengthen Australia’s long-term economic and social foundations. The first area highlighted is increased investment in climate risk adaptation and resilience, recognising the growing fiscal and social exposure from natural disasters and the cost-effectiveness of proactive adaptation measures.

The Institute also noted that the risk of climate-driven house price declines in high climate risk regions could drive geographic inequity.

Spring 2025 saw very different weather across Australia. Queensland experienced unusually high temperatures that contributed to severe storms and large hail, while other parts of the country were cooler than usual.

Heavy rainfall was mostly limited to northern regions, including areas affected by a tropical cyclone, and sea levels remained higher than normal in many locations. The Australian Actuaries Climate Index (AACI) recorded its 41st consecutive positive value, continuing a pattern of elevated extreme weather conditions.

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), in collaboration with the University of Exeter, has published a report titled Parasol Lost: Recovery Plan Needed.

The report warns that global temperatures are accelerating faster than predicted due to a loss of ‘aerosol cooling’, a hidden sunshade effect created by air pollution, which has offset around 0.5°C of warming.

COP30, held in Belem, Brazil in November 2025, faced a challenging geopolitical backdrop. UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell acknowledged "stormy political waters" but concluded that climate cooperation remains "alive and kicking, keeping humanity in the fight for a liveable planet".

Binding agreements proved elusive — fossil fuel transition and deforestation plans were accepted via compromise 'roadmaps' outside the formal UN regime. The Summit did deliver agreement to triple global adaptation finance by 2035 and strengthen climate targets.

The central outcome was the Mutiroa Decision, which focused on: uniting countries for collective climate action; prioritising climate finance for developing countries; advancing the fossil fuel transition; and strengthening accountability of wealthier nations.
 

Some reports were published for COP30:

• IPCC at UNFCCC COP30
• OECD The Climate Action Monitor 2025
• OECD Fast-tracking Net Zero by Building Climate and Economic Resiliance
• UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2025
• UNEP Adaptation Gap Report 2025
• UNEP Global Cooling Watch 2025
• UNEP An Eye on Methane 2025: From Measurement to Momentum
• WHO Delivering the Belem Health Action Plan
• WMO at COP30 Report Hub
• The World Bank Group at COP30 Publications
• IFRS Foundation: Capacity Building Programme Activity Report

The National Climate Risk Assessment provides a comprehensive assessment of physical climate risks across Australia, examining how hazards such as heat, floods, bushfires and sea level rise affect communities, infrastructure, the natural environment and the economy.

The assessment identifies increasing risks from extreme and compound events, highlights rising disaster recovery costs, and underscores the need for ongoing adaptation as climate impacts intensify. It also outlines planned future data releases to improve understanding of climate hazards and support decision-making across government and industry.

The IFRS Sustainability Symposium 2025 was held on 30 October in London, bringing together preparers and investors alongside other global market leaders from 48 jurisdictions, to discuss the implementation of ISSB Standards. Key takeaways include that quality is more important than quantity, and that there is strong market demand for industry-specific disclosures.

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has issued targeted amendments to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disclosure requirements in IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures in response to specific application challenges that were identified as companies started to apply the standard.

In parallel developments, the GRI continues to advance its sector-specific standards for financial services with a planned release by the end of June 2026.

GRI Standards complement the ISSB Standards by taking a broader stakeholder approach, emphasising impact materiality and how organisations affect the economy, environment, and people. Many financial institutions are adopting both frameworks in tandem: ISSB for investor reporting requirements and GRI for comprehensive sustainability reporting to meet diverse stakeholder needs.

As a response to investor needs, the ISSB will introduce incremental disclosure requirements on nature-related risks and opportunities not already reflected in explicit requirements in IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures. Where appropriate, the ISSB will draw on the TNFD framework and its non-siloed approach to nature, covering all aspects of nature rather than sub-topics.

The ISSB aims to have an Exposure Draft ready by the Convention on Biological Diversity COP17 in October 2026.