The Climate Data Steering Committee
Solving the climate data challenge
Mitigating the worst impacts of climate change requires the world to accelerate actions to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050.
More than 100 countries have either adopted, announced, or are discussing net-zero commitments, covering more than two-thirds of global GHG emissions. While various net-zero emissions pledges have been made, they differ in terms of scope and specificity, and to date, limited policies are in place to deliver on them, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The lack of accessible, high-quality, and consistent data remains one of the biggest challenges for turning net-zero pledges into action.
To deliver the transition to a net-zero economy, we need to address challenges tied to the global availability, comparability, and transparency of climate transition-related data.
Financial institutions need consistent data on their clients and portfolio companies to make informed financial decisions in line with their climate targets.
Companies need comprehensive data on their value chains to measure and disclose their Scope 3 GHG emissions.
Policymakers and regulators need reliable data on GHG emissions reductions to measure progress, monitor risks, and develop public policy.
Civil society needs open access to data to drive collaborative progress with companies and other partners across the global economy.
The Climate Data Steering Committee (CDSC) was established by French President Emmanuel Macron and UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions Michael R. Bloomberg in June 2022 in response to the global climate data challenge. The CDSC’s goal is to accelerate and help build a broadly accessible foundation of high-quality climate data that is critical to delivering the net-zero transition.
Bringing global leaders together
The CDSC is intended to be representative of key international stakeholders responsible for policy initiatives and creating frameworks for the provision of net-zero transition data. The CDSC builds on global momentum for companies to report climate data critical to delivering a net-zero economy, bringing together global regulators, policymakers, and disclosure standards setters.
CDSC members:
Ashley Alder
Chair, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), United Kingdom
Bruno Le Maire
Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, France
Daniela Stoffel
State Secretary for International Finance, Swiss Federal Department of Finance, Switzerland
Emmanuel Faber
Chair, International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)
Fatih Birol
Executive Director, International Energy Agency (IEA)
Jean-Paul Servais
Chair, International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
Klaas Knot
Chair, Financial Stability Board (FSB)
Kristalina Georgieva
Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Lee White
Minister of Water, Forests, the Sea and the Environment, Gabon
Mairead McGuinness
Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union, European Commission
Mario Marcel
Minister of Finance, Chile
Mark Carney
Co-Chair, Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ)
Mary Schapiro
Chair, Climate Data Steering Committee (CDSC)
Mathias Cormann
Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Matthew Opoku Prempeh
Minister of Energy, Ghana
Nellie Liang
Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, United States Treasury Department
Patrick de Cambourg
Chair of Sustainability Reporting Board, European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG)
Ravi Menon
Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Chair of the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS)
Shigeru Ariizumi
Vice Minister for International Affairs, Japan Financial Services Agency
Simon Stiell
Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
CDSC observer:
Catherine McKenna
Chair, UNSG High-level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments
To drive forward global momentum for the private sector to disclose key climate data, the CDSC will advise on and oversee the creation of a unified, global, open-access climate data repository of climate transition-related data.
Increasing the integrity, comparability, and transparency of key climate data
In 2022, the CDSC convened to produce a vision for a global climate data repository that will be accessible to everyone free of charge: the Net-Zero Data Public Utility (NZDPU or Utility). As envisioned by the CDSC, the NZDPU will bring greater transparency and data integrity to financial markets and consumers, help accelerate efforts to direct capital to low- or zero-carbon investments, and provide the ability to monitor progress against emissions reductions targets.
In its initial version, the CDSC recommended that the Utility provide information on companies’ Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 GHG emissions, carbon credits, and emissions reduction targets, including financed emissions. The Utility will also provide relevant metadata on these fields to provide greater transparency to users.
The CDSC will oversee the delivery of the NZDPU and, informed by actors across the global economy including climate data providers and civil society, come together to deliver a forward-looking strategic vision for more accessible climate data. For more information, visit nzdpu.com.
Publications
Recommendations for the Development of the Net-Zero Data Public Utility
November 2022
Recommendations Development Process
(in response to consultation feedback)
November 2022
Meeting notes
The Climate Data Steering Committee holds regular working-level meetings of delegates appointed by CDSC members, and periodic principal-level meetings. Summaries of these meetings are provided below.
Recent news
Climate Data Steering Committee (CDSC), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Singapore Exchange (SGX Group): MAS and SGX Group to collaborate with the Climate Data Steering Committee to strengthen global access to climate transition-related data (06/27/23)
Climate Data Steering Committee (CDSC): Swiss Financial Centre Actors Unite To Help Develop Net-Zero Data Public Utility (06/26/23)
Le Figaro: Climate: standards for comparing corporate action (06/03/22)
Reuters: Macron, Bloomberg seek better monitoring of business climate action (06/03/22)
Élysée: Qu’est-ce que le One Planet Data hub? (What is the One Planet Data hub?) (06/03/22)
Responsible Investor: ESG round-up: Macron and Bloomberg announce climate data steering committee (06/07/22)
Le Monde: Climate: ‘Without data, there is no way for the public to hold companies accountable’ (06/10/22)
Bloomberg Philanthropies: Climate Data Steering Committee Proposes Recommendations for the Development of First-Ever Publicly Accessible Climate Data Utility. (09/21/22)
Environmental Finance: Macron and Bloomberg propose ‘open’ climate data platform (09/22/22)
ESG Investor: Plans for Climate Data Utility Unveiled at UNGA (09/22/22)
Finextra: Net-Zero committee proposes creation of climate data utility (09/22/22)
Financial Times: Eight themes to watch after UNGA week (09/26/22)
Regulation Asia: International Committee to create Public Utility for Net-Zero Data (09/28/22)
Le Monde: COP27: ‘Climate data must be built and used for the common good’ (11/06/22)
Regulation Asia: Net-Zero Data Public Utility to launch as Beta in H2 2023 (11/11/22)