ISSB Launches Nature Disclosure Exposure Draft at COP17, Eyes Feb 2027 Deadline

ISSB Drops Nature Disclosure Draft at COP17 — A Landmark Week for Sustainability Reporting

The International Sustainability Standards Board made a significant move on 22 October 2026, releasing the exposure draft of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Practice Statement 1: Nature-related Disclosures — timed deliberately to coincide with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity's COP17 summit in Yerevan, Armenia. The 120-day public consultation runs until 19 February 2027, according to the IFRS Foundation's official announcement and confirmed by coverage in ESG Today, PwC's In Brief, and FM Magazine.

What the Draft Proposes

The exposure draft sets out how companies should disclose nature-related risks and opportunities — covering dependencies on and impacts to ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources — in a way that investors can compare across entities. It is structured as a Practice Statement rather than a full mandatory standard, meaning companies need not apply it solely to claim compliance with existing ISSB standards. However, as reporting specialists at Asuene and Accountio have noted, IFRS S1 already requires disclosure of all material sustainability-related risks, including nature; the Practice Statement is therefore intended to clarify how that existing obligation should be fulfilled, not to create an entirely separate layer.

The draft draws substantially on the framework developed by the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), which had been adopted by hundreds of organizations managing trillions in assets before the ISSB formally absorbed its work into its own standard-setting pipeline. The Asian Banker reported that TNFD Co-Chair David Craig publicly welcomed the publication, signalling strong continuity between the voluntary TNFD regime and the ISSB's more institutionalised process.

Why This Matters Now — and How It Connects to the Broader Regulatory Landscape

The ISSB's move arrives at a moment of sharp regulatory divergence globally. In the EU, the revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) — adopted by the European Commission as a delegated act in July 2026 — are set to enter into force on 10 November 2026 and apply to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027, per Cooley's July 2026 analysis. The Omnibus I reform (Directive (EU) 2026/470) that underpins those revised standards raised the CSRD scope threshold to 1,000 employees and €450 million in net turnover, cutting the number of mandated companies significantly. Meanwhile, a separate EFRAG consultation on ESRS-40a — the standard for non-EU parent groups — closed on 31 October 2026, according to the CSRD timeline tracker at uksrs.org.uk.

In the United States, the picture remains frozen. The SEC's climate disclosure rules — adopted in March 2024 but stayed within weeks — have never taken effect. The comment period on the SEC's formal rescission proposal closed on 3 August 2026, as reported by Pulsora's Q3 2026 ESG regulatory roundup, and a final rescission vote is expected in late 2026 or early 2027 per Modus Alliance. California's SB 253, however, remains live: the first Scope 1 and 2 reporting deadline was pushed to 10 November 2026.

What Happens After the Comment Period Closes

The ISSB will review stakeholder feedback submitted through 19 February 2027 before deciding whether the nature-related content should remain a Practice Statement or be elevated to a binding standard — a distinction that determines whether individual jurisdictions could make it mandatory. The board is also weighing whether the IFRS Practice Statement format is the appropriate vehicle, a question it explicitly invited respondents to address.