CSDS
Chinese Sustainability Disclosure Standards — Basic Standard (Trial) and Standard No. 1 Climate (Trial)
Topic : ESG disclosure · Level : National
Today
Basic and Climate standards voluntary. MOF draft climate guide + 9 sector guides consulted to 26 Oct 2026; no mandatory date.
Summary
China's Ministry of Finance is building national sustainability disclosure standards aligned with ISSB. The Basic Standard (2024) and the Climate Standard (Dec 2025) are voluntary for now. Mandatory scope and dates have not been set; a full system is targeted by 2030.
Who is concerned
- Turnover
- non précisé
- Employees
- non précisé
- Listed company
- cotées et non cotées
- Sectors
- All sectors
- Power, steel, cement, alu
- Coal, oil, fertiliser
- Hydrogen, automobiles
- Triggering activities
- Voluntary adoption until MOF sets scope
- Future: listed and large firms first
- Extraterritorial reach
- No
Climate standard converges with IFRS S2 incl. Scope 3, so reporters will need value-chain data from suppliers.
- Examples
- Listed steelmaker piloting climate disclosure
- Large SOE in power sector
What the law requires
- Disclose climate governance, strategy, risk management, metrics
- Report Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions (IFRS S2-aligned)
- Define a reasonable value-chain boundary
Penalties
None yet: voluntary trial standards. Penalties would come from future mandatory rules (CSRC, exchanges).
What this changes for a supplier in China
Sets the national template for climate data. Once mandatory, large Chinese buyers will need Scope 3 data from suppliers in the same IFRS S2 format.
Expected evidence
- Scope 1 and 2 inventory
- Product carbon footprint data
- Climate risk and transition plan notes
Tiers : Tier 1-2