On 25 December 2025, the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China, together with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Commerce, People’s Bank of China, State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, National Financial Regulatory Administration, and China Securities Regulatory Commission, issued 财政部等九部门关于印发《企业可持续披露准则第1号——气候（试行）》的通知 (CaiKua [2025] No. 34) on climate-related disclosure standards for companies. The official announcement was published on the Ministry’s policy release portal.
The new standard, titled “Enterprise Sustainable Disclosure Standard No. 1 — Climate (Trial)”, is a voluntary, trial disclosure framework intended to guide enterprises in reporting climate-related risks, opportunities, impacts and strategies in a more consistent and comparable manner. It builds on the earlier Enterprise Sustainable Disclosure Basic Standard (Trial) and is the first thematic standard within China’s broader sustainable disclosure system.
The climate standard sets out detailed expectations for corporate disclosures across four main areas: governance structures related to climate oversight, strategic responses to climate-related risks and opportunities, risk and opportunity management processes, and key metrics and targets such as carbon emissions and climate-related financial impacts. The framework also introduces principles and methods for scenario analysis and greenhouse gas accounting, with tiered expectations based on company capacity and relevance of climate impacts.
According to the official notice, the standard was developed over more than two years through consultation with government agencies, market participants and external stakeholders, including pilot climate disclosure testing by dozens of firms. It reflects the Chinese state’s commitment to enhance transparency on climate-related information disclosure and to align with international disclosure practices while remaining tailored to domestic conditions.
At this stage, the climate standard is positioned as trial guidance, with voluntary implementation, phased extensions to more firms, and a longer-term path toward potential future mandatory climate disclosure requirements.
Official government announcement link: https://kjs.mof.gov.cn/zhengcefabu/202512/t20251225_3980202.htm