Listed companies in China should be bound to report environmental data including CO2 emissions, according to a new proposal by the chief economist at the nation’s central bank reported by Xinhua.

The proposal came as China is preparing to amend its securities laws in the aftermath of the recent stock market crash, which wiped away 40% of market value.

Ma Jun, chief economist at the People’s Bank of China, is heading a green finance committee that is pushing for legal backing that would force listed companies to disclose environmental data.

In preparation for the nation’s national emissions trading scheme, the NDRC has required emitters in some sectors to begin reporting carbon emissions, but most companies don’t.

A number of studies have concluded that many big emitters in China, listed on the Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges, face huge regulatory risks from exposure to new environmental policies, yet fail to make this risks known to shareholders and potential investors.

UK-headquartered environmental data specialists Trucost wrote in a recent report that only 14% of China’s cement producers disclose sufficient environmental data, even though 43% of their annual revenue might be at risk if policy changes forced them to start paying for the full impact of their emissions.

By Stian Reklev – stian@carbon-pulse.com

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