Climate change disclosures: An examination of Canadian oil and gas firms

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine: (1) to what extent Canadian oil and gas firms have 
adhered to the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountant proposed guidelines respecting cli
mate change disclosures in their annual reports, and (2) whether the disclosures of these firms 
can be influenced by their media visibility, the presence and operating characteristics of an en
vironmental committee within the board of directors, their ownership structure, their audit 
firms, their political exposure and media visibility. The results show that the level of disclosure 
is very low; however, when the board of directors has an environment committee, the level of 
disclosure is higher. This is also the case for firms having significant political exposure and 
strong media visibility, and for those with a widely held ownership structure. Whether or not 
the audit firm is one of the Big Four, does not make any difference in the level of disclosure