Greentryst / Frameworks / IFRS S2
Updated April 2026 · Greentryst Climate Disclosure Desk
Standard · Climate · Global Baseline
Climate-related Disclosures
Greentryst's step-by-step implementation guide to IFRS S2, written for reporting teams, auditors, and boards. Every paragraph of the standard, from Governance, Strategy, Risk Management and Metrics and Targets, is reproduced verbatim, translated into plain language, and paired with an illustrative disclosure showing what a strong disclosure looks like. 4 pillars, 116 clauses guided, authored by the Climate Disclosure Desk and reviewed by an independent Editorial Board before publication.
Cover Sheet
Answer · What is IFRS S2?
IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures is the global baseline standard for corporate climate reporting. Issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) under the IFRS Foundation in June 2023 and effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024, it has since been adopted or formally referenced by regulators in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Singapore, and Nigeria. With that global footprint, IFRS S2 is now the de facto successor to the TCFD recommendations.
The International Sustainability Standards Board issued IFRS S2 in June 2023 alongside IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information. The two standards form the first pair of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. IFRS S2 absorbs and replaces the TCFD framework, carries forward the same four pillars, and adds quantitative and industry-based metric requirements drawn from the SASB Standards. Adoption is being introduced in jurisdictions on a staggered basis, typically beginning with listed issuers and financial institutions.
4 Key Pillars for IFRS S2 Disclosures
How oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities is organised, resourced, informed, and factored into strategic decision-making at board and management level. Covers paragraphs 6 and 7.
Inside this pillar
Climate-related risks and opportunities, their effects on the business model and value chain, strategic response and transition plans, financial effects over the short, medium, and long term, and climate resilience under scenario analysis. Covers paragraphs 9 through 23.
Inside this pillar
The processes used to identify, assess, prioritise, and monitor climate-related risks and opportunities, and how those processes are integrated into enterprise risk management. Covers paragraphs 25 and 26.
Inside this pillar
Cross-industry metric categories including Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions, transition and physical risk exposure, climate-related opportunities, capital deployment, internal carbon prices, and remuneration linkages. Industry-based metrics and climate-related targets. Covers paragraphs 28 through 37.
Inside this pillar
From Rule to Disclosure
Every clause on Greentryst is read three ways. Here is the pattern, applied to IFRS S2 paragraph 6(a).
01 · Requirement · Verbatim
To achieve this objective, an entity shall disclose information about the governance body(s) (which can include a board, committee or equivalent body charged with governance) or individual(s) responsible for oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities. Specifically, the entity shall identify that body(s) or individual(s) and disclose information about the matters set out in paragraph 6(a)(i) through (v).
Source: IFRS S2 paragraph 6(a)
02 · What it means · Plain language
IFRS S2 requires the entity to name the body or individual that sits at the top of the climate governance chain. This is not a rhetorical reference to "the board". The standard expects a specific answer: the Board of Directors, a specific standing committee, or a named executive role. The five sub-paragraphs that follow ask how that body or person is mandated, informed, equipped, and incentivised.
Climate Disclosure Desk · Greentryst
03 · Illustrative Disclosure · What a good disclosure looks like
"The Board of Directors holds ultimate oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities, discharged primarily through the Risk and Sustainability Committee (RSC). The RSC reviews climate matters at each of its four annual meetings and escalates issues of strategic consequence to the full Board." The passage names the body, specifies the delegated committee, and states the cadence. Everything that follows in paragraphs 6(a)(i) to (v) refers back to this anchor.
Illustrative pattern · Not attributed
Jurisdictional Adoption
Adoption is jurisdiction-led. Each regulator decides scope, timing, and how the standard is incorporated locally. Status as of April 2026.
| Jurisdiction | Regulator | Status | First mandatory period | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | FCA / FRC | Endorsement underway | TBD | Endorsement decision via the FRC. Will apply to large listed entities first. |
| Australia | AASB / ASIC | Adopted (AASB S2) | Phase-in from FY 2025 | Tiered phase-in by entity size. |
| Canada | CSSB | Adopted (CSDS 2) | Voluntary now; regulator-led mandatory timing | Aligned with IFRS S2 with limited modifications. |
| Brazil | CVM | Adopted | Phase-in for listed issuers | Voluntary period during phase-in. |
| Japan | SSBJ | Adopted (SSBJ S2) | Phase-in for Prime Market issuers | SSBJ standards released March 2025. |
| Singapore | ACRA / SGX | Adopted | Phase-in for listed issuers | Climate-only initially. |
| Nigeria | FRC | Adopted | Voluntary now; staged toward mandatory | First African adopter. |
Sources: regulator publications. Updated April 2026.
Frequently Asked
11 questions
Q.01
IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures is the global baseline standard for corporate climate reporting. Issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) under the IFRS Foundation in June 2023, it carries forward the four TCFD pillars (Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, and Metrics and Targets) and adds quantitative and industry-based metric requirements drawn from the SASB Standards.
Lesson 0.3 · IFRS S2 at a Glance — Structure, Scope and Key ConceptsQ.02
IFRS S2 itself is a global standard, not law. It becomes mandatory in a given jurisdiction only when the local regulator adopts or endorses it. By April 2026, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Singapore, and Nigeria have done so on staggered timelines, the United Kingdom has endorsement underway, and the European Union has built interoperability with its own ESRS rather than direct adoption. For any specific entity, mandatory status depends on which regulator it reports to and the size or listing thresholds set in that jurisdiction.
Q.03
IFRS S2 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024. Adoption is jurisdiction-led: each regulator decides when in-scope entities must report, typically starting with listed issuers and large financial institutions. The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Singapore, and Nigeria have adopted or formally referenced the standard, with staggered effective dates.
Lesson 8.1 · Effective Dates, Transition Reliefs and First-Year ReportingQ.04
To smooth first-year adoption, paragraphs C3 to C5 of Appendix C provide transition reliefs. Entities can: (1) report only climate-related disclosures under IFRS S2 in their first reporting year, deferring broader IFRS S1 sustainability topics; (2) defer Scope 3 emissions disclosure by one year; (3) keep a previously used GHG measurement method, even if it is not GHG Protocol, in the first year; and (4) defer the comparative-period requirement for the first year of reporting. These reliefs are one-time and apply only to the first annual reporting period an entity applies the standard.
Lesson 8.1 · Effective Dates, Transition Reliefs and First-Year ReportingQ.05
IFRS S2 organises climate-related disclosure around four pillars: Governance (oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities), Strategy (effects on business model, strategy, and financial planning), Risk Management (processes to identify, assess, and manage risks), and Metrics and Targets (greenhouse gas emissions, transition and physical risk exposure, and capital deployment). Every clause on this page sits within one of these pillars.
Lesson 0.3 · IFRS S2 at a Glance — Structure, Scope and Key ConceptsQ.06
Yes. Paragraph 29 requires disclosure of absolute gross greenhouse gas emissions for Scopes 1, 2, and 3, measured in line with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard. Scope 3 is the most demanding category because it covers value-chain emissions from suppliers, products in use, and downstream activities. Recognising the difficulty, IFRS S2 grants first-year transition reliefs for Scope 3 reporting, and a separate one-year relief for the Category 15 financed-emissions disclosure that financial institutions must produce. Disclosure must be disaggregated by Scope 3 category where material.
Lesson 5.2 · Scope 3 Emissions — Categories and Why They MatterQ.07
Yes. Paragraph 22 requires entities to assess and disclose climate resilience using climate-related scenario analysis. The analysis must consider the entity's identified climate-related risks and opportunities and use scenarios that are commensurate with the entity's circumstances, including at least one scenario aligned with the most ambitious global temperature goal in the Paris Agreement.
Lesson 3.3 · Climate Resilience and Scenario AnalysisQ.08
IFRS S2 itself does not prescribe an assurance requirement; that decision is left to local regulators. Several adopting jurisdictions are introducing assurance requirements separately, typically beginning with limited assurance and progressing to reasonable assurance over several years. Australia and the European Union (the latter under CSRD) have set explicit timelines for moving from limited to reasonable assurance on climate and broader sustainability disclosures. Practitioners should check the assurance regime in the jurisdictions they report into rather than assuming a uniform standard applies.
Q.09
IFRS S1 is the general requirements standard for sustainability-related financial disclosures; IFRS S2 is the first topic-specific standard that sits under it. Entities reporting under IFRS S2 must also comply with IFRS S1 concepts of materiality, presentation, and connected information. The two were issued together in June 2023 as the first pair of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.
Lesson 0.4 · Materiality, Proportionality and InteroperabilityQ.10
IFRS S2 is the direct successor to the TCFD recommendations. It preserves the same four-pillar structure but makes the requirements a mandatory disclosure standard rather than a voluntary framework. It also adds specific metric categories: industry-based metrics from SASB, quantitative Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions disclosure, and requirements around internal carbon pricing and remuneration linkages.
Lesson 0.2 · From TCFD to ISSB — The Road to IFRS S2Q.11
Three key differences.
Greentryst Practitioner Guide · IFRS S2 · 2026
Climate Disclosure Desk · Reviewed by Editorial Board · Updated April 2026