AASB S2 Amendments FAQs

The AASB issued AASB S2025-1 Amendments to Greenhouse Gas Emissions Disclosures to amend AASB S2 Climate-related Disclosures (AASB S2) to provide additional relief and clarify existing relief relating to specific greenhouse gas emissions disclosure requirements, while keeping user information needs in focus.

These mirror the amendments issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) with respect to IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures (IFRS S2), which were identified during the implementation phase of IFRS S2 and were not considered by the ISSB before issuing the Standard.

Click here to access AASB S2025-1.

AASB S2 has been amended to:

1. clarify that an entity is permitted to limit its measurement and disclosure of Scope 3 Category 15 GHG emissions to financed emissions​
2. permit use of alternative classification systems—beyond the Global Industry Classification Standard—to disaggregate information about financed emissions
3. clarify that the jurisdictional relief from using the GHG Protocol Standard is available to an entity when a jurisdictional authority or an exchange on which the entity is listed requires the use of a different method only for the part of the entity to which that jurisdictional authority or exchange requirement applies
4. provide jurisdictional relief from using GWP values from the latest IPCC Assessment Report for converting GHG emissions when a jurisdictional authority or an exchange on which the entity is listed requires the use of different GWP values for the part of the entity to which that jurisdictional authority or exchange requirement applies.

The effective date of the amendments is for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.

Early application of the amendments is permitted but is not required. If an entity elects to apply the amendments early, it must disclose that fact (see Appendix C1B in AASB S2025-1).

The Corporations Act (2001) permits an entity to elect to apply a sustainability standard, including the amendments, to an earlier period than the effective date (see s336A). The election must be made in writing by the directors (e.g. a director’s resolution). This is consistent with the requirements for early adoption of new or revised Australian Accounting Standards.

Under AASB S2, an entity is required to disclose its absolute gross greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, expressed in metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e). GHG emissions must be measured in accordance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard unless a jurisdictional authority or an exchange on which an entity is listed requires the use of a different measurement method. This exception is commonly referred to as jurisdictional relief.

The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme is an Australian national framework that is administered by the Clean Energy Regulator, which, by law, requires certain corporations to report their GHG emissions, energy production and energy consumption. The data is used to inform government policy and program development, and serves to support Australia’s international obligations for reporting and reducing GHG emissions.

Entities reporting under the NGER Scheme have the option to apply this jurisdictional relief. While the jurisdictional relief permits a reporting entity to use a method other than the GHG Protocol, it is not intended to provide relief from the measurement and disclosure of any GHG emissions that are not required to be measured by the NGER Scheme.

AASB S2025-1 Amendments to Greenhouse Gas Emissions Disclosures clarifies that this jurisdictional relief is available when an entity, in whole or in part, is required to use a different method for measuring GHG emissions. The jurisdictional relief is only applicable to the part of the entity subject to that requirement and is only available for as long as that requirement applies.

AASB S2 requires that, where an entity measures emissions using direct measurement, the entity converts the greenhouse gases into CO2e using the global warming potential (GWP) values based on a 100-year time horizon from the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment available at the reporting date. Currently, the IPCC’s latest assessment is the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).

AASB S2025-1 Amendments to Greenhouse Gas Emissions Disclosures clarifies that where an entity is required, in whole or in part, by a jurisdictional authority or an exchange on which it is listed to use different GWP values for converting the seven constituent greenhouse gases into a CO2 equivalent value, it can continue to use those GWP values.

The NGER Scheme requires the use of GWP values from the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). Consequently, if an entity is preparing GHG emissions disclosures under AASB S2 and applying the jurisdictional relief, they are not required to recalculate those emissions reported under the NGER Scheme using GWP values from AR6. The jurisdictional relief is only applicable to the part of the entity subject to that requirement and is only available for as long as that requirement applies.

Click here to access the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report.

Click here to access the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report.

The jurisdictional reliefs are available only to the part of the entity required by a jurisdictional authority to use a method for measuring GHG emissions other than the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard or specific GWP values.

Where only part of an entity is subject to such requirements, the parts of an entity that are not subject to that requirement cannot apply the jurisdictional reliefs.

AASB S2 requires an entity to disclose GHG emissions information for the same reporting period as the entity’s related financial statements. There is no jurisdictional relief from this requirement.