From TCFD to CRFR: Decoding the Basel Committee’s Climate Disclosure Drive

On June 13, 2025, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision released a voluntary framework for climate-related financial risk disclosures, marking a significant advancement in global banking transparency. This framework builds upon existing standards such as those from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures ("TCFD") and the International Sustainability Standards Board ("ISSB"), introducing more detailed, bank-specific templates aligned with supervisory use. 

Structured around the standard pillars of governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics, the framework includes templates like CRFR1, which seeks granular financed emissions data (Scopes 1, 2, and 3) by sector, including maturity profiles and off-balance sheet exposures. This level of detail surpasses the granularity found in existing ISSB and TCFD standards. 

Although the framework is officially voluntary, it is designed for jurisdictional uptake and potential integration into Pillar 3 regimes. Templates such as CRFR3 (energy efficiency of real estate) and CRFR4 (GHG intensity by sector) imply complex sectoral and geographic disclosures. 

Notably, the final framework omits earlier proposals requiring banks to report carbon emissions from capital markets activities, known as "facilitated emissions," acknowledging the evolving nature of climate-related data and the need for flexibility. 

Given the framework's potential influence on national regulations, especially in jurisdictions prioritizing climate risk management, banks should proactively evaluate their disclosure capabilities and risk management practices to align with the new standards.