Businesses in Ireland and around the world are doing better when it comes to disclosing their climate risks.
But many are still not then doing enough to take meaningful action to reduce their carbon footprint.
Those are among some of the conclusions of a new report by EY, which examines the efforts of organisations to report and act on sustainability challenges.
The Global Climate Risk Barometer probes the actions of over 1,500 businesses across 47 countries.
It measures their behaviour against recommendations of the Task Force on Climate related Financial Disclosures.
On average firms examined achieved a score of 84% in relation to the level of information that they disclose on all recommendations, up from 70% a year ago.
UK firms scored highest on quality and coverage, but South Korea and other European countries including Ireland are also among the countries where scores are high.
Since last year, Irish businesses have increased in coverage from 62% to 88%.
"We're witnessing a sea change in the regulatory landscape around sustainability and climate risk, with new regulatory bodies and proposed standards, as well as examples of individual countries introducing their own rules," said Lorraine McCann, Director, Climate Change and Sustainability Services, EY Ireland.
"So it’s not a surprise that companies around the world are improving their disclosure."
But the report also highlights that many companies are not performing as strongly when it comes to the quality of disclosures.
The average score in this category is just 44%, up 2% on the figure recorded in 2021.
Only 29% of companies surveyed said they report on the impact of climate change in their financial statements.
EY claims this is a sign that they don't have the data they need or that they have not calculated the impact.
While more than half of the references to climate impact in these statements are qualitative rather than quantitative, it says.
"In fact, the quality of disclosures in Ireland has reduced from 59% in 2021 to 51% in 2022," said Ms McCann.
"This tells me that more companies are focused on ticking the box across the relevant TCFD disclosure areas, and failing to address the critical question which is 'what is the financial impact of climate change in the financial statements?’"
There are some signs of progress in other areas though, with nearly half of firms surveyed globally saying they have conducted scenario analysis to examine the likely scale and timings of particular risks and prepare for the worst-case outcomes.
While 75% said they have conducted risk analysis, and 62% have undertaken opportunity analysis, while 61% have disclosed decarbonisation strategies.
The survey also shows that companies are now giving more balanced consideration to different types of risks including transition and physical risks.
