The World Economic Forum announced on Friday the formation of a new international consortium of seven organizations to help regulate corporate reporting of climate risk information.

Founding members of the consortium, the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), include the California Climate Action Registry, Carbon Disclosure Project, Ceres, the Climate Group, International Emissions Trading Association, World Economic Forum Global Greenhouse Gas Register and World Resources Institute.

"CDSB member organizations have agreed to align their core requests for information from companies," said the World Economic Forum at its annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort of Davos .

The purpose is to ensure that companies "report climate change- related information in a standardized way that facilitates easier comparative analysis by investors, managers and the public," it said.

The Davos meeting is being participated by leaders of the world 's top companies, and climate change-related risks have been a hot topic during the discussions.

According to the World Economic Forum, CDSB member organizations will establish a standard framework that will request companies to disclose key climate risk-related information in their annual reports.

The requested information include total emissions, assessment of the physical and regulatory risks of climate change, and strategic analysis of climate risk and emissions management.

"Consistent and comprehensive disclosure frameworks are important to the incentives shareholders provide to corporate managers to deploy capital efficiently," said Richard Samans, managing director of the World Economic Forum.

He said the founding of the consortium was "groundbreaking" and it was "a good example of leadership by the private sector and civil society on a critical global challenge."

(Xinhua News Agency January 27, 2007)