TNFD Halts New Technical Work After ISSB Assumes Nature Disclosure Standard Setting

The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures has announced it will pause the commencement of any further technical guidance after completing work currently in progress, anticipated for the third quarter of 2026, following the International Sustainability Standards Board's decision to begin nature-related standard setting based on the TNFD framework. The TNFD will conclude its technical programme, subject to the outcome of the ISSB's work, likely in 2027.

The TNFD was launched in 2021 and published its final recommendations for nature-related risk management and disclosure in September 2023, centred around 14 recommended disclosures. To date, more than 730 companies and financial institutions with over $9 trillion in market capitalisation and $22 trillion in assets under management have committed to adopt the TNFD recommendations. The TNFD's decision to step back mirrors the 2023 takeover by the IFRS Foundation of the TCFD's responsibilities following the ISSB's launch of its climate-focused IFRS S2 standard.

The TNFD welcomed the ISSB's move into nature standard setting and said it will focus additional technical efforts on supporting the ISSB's work programme. The ISSB said it will draw on the TNFD framework, including its recommendations, metrics and guidance, in developing ISSB nature disclosure requirements. ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber encouraged market participants to continue using the TNFD framework in the interim, noting it will help them prepare disclosures aligned with IFRS S1 and anticipate future incremental ISSB requirements.

The TNFD's pivot from standard development to supporting the ISSB reflects a deliberate consolidation of nature-related disclosure architecture into the globally recognised ISSB framework, reducing fragmentation for reporting companies and investors. For Indian companies that have already begun adopting the TNFD LEAP framework for nature risk assessment, continuity of the framework's core approach within the ISSB process is reassuring. The transition also means that future mandatory nature disclosures under ISSB-aligned jurisdictional regimes will build directly on work already undertaken by TNFD early adopters.

Key figure — 730+ companies and institutions with $22 trillion in AUM have committed to TNFD recommendations