Insight ยท October 2026

Qatar's first ISSB reports: what to prepare now

Qatar is the first GCC market to require the ISSB standards across listed companies, banks, insurers and QFC firms at once. Here is who must report, when, which reliefs apply, and a plan to be ready for your first report in 2027.

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FY2026the first financial year reported under IFRS S1 and S2
2027first reports published, for a December year-end
FY2028first Scope 3 disclosure, after Qatar's extended relief

The short answer

All three of Qatar's financial regulators have adopted IFRS S1 and S2, the ISSB standards, for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2026. A company with a December year-end is already in its first reporting year, and publishes its first ISSB report in 2027. The disclosures sit alongside the financial statements, so finance teams, not only sustainability teams, need to be involved now.

Who has to report

  • Listed companies. The Qatar Financial Markets Authority's 2025 Corporate Governance Code requires Main Market companies to report under IFRS S1 and S2. Venture Market companies can comply or explain.
  • Banks and insurers. The Qatar Central Bank's Sustainability Reporting Framework (December 2025) applies to the banks and insurers it regulates, whether they are listed or not.
  • QFC firms. The QFCRA's corporate sustainability reporting rules (June 2025) apply to Category A firms, which include banks and insurers, and to any other QFC firm the regulator designates.

Other companies have no general requirement yet, but many will be asked for emissions and climate data by the banks, insurers and listed customers that are in scope.

When the first reports are due

For listed companies, the sustainability disclosures are published at the same time as the annual financial statements, from the first year. Banks, insurers and QFC firms can use a first-year relief that allows them to publish their 2026 disclosures after their financial statements; from the second year, the two go out together.

The reliefs that matter

  • Scope 3 emissions. The ISSB standards let companies leave out Scope 3 in their first year. Qatar has extended this by a further year, so a company with a December year-end first discloses Scope 3 for FY2028.
  • Measurement method. Companies that already measure emissions with a method other than the GHG Protocol can keep using it for an extra year.
  • The standards' own first-year reliefs. IFRS S1 and S2 allow some simplifications in the first year, such as no comparative figures. Check with your regulator which apply to you.

Reliefs delay what has to be published, not the work. Scope 3 data from suppliers and customers takes at least a year to build, so it should start in 2027.

What a first ISSB report contains

IFRS S2 asks for climate-related disclosures in four areas: governance (how the board oversees climate risk), strategy (the risks and opportunities, their financial effects and how resilient the business is under different climate scenarios), risk management (how climate risk is identified and managed) and metrics and targets (including Scope 1 and 2 emissions). IFRS S1 applies the same structure to other sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could affect the company's prospects.

QCB and QFCRA are developing assurance frameworks. Even where assurance is not yet required, prepare your emissions data and judgements as if an auditor will check them.

A plan to your first report in 2027

  1. November

    Confirm which regulator and reliefs apply, brief the board and audit committee, and run a gap analysis against IFRS S1 and S2.

  2. December

    Set out board oversight of climate risk, add climate to the risk register and capture year-end data for fuel, electricity and refrigerants.

  3. January

    Assess climate risks and opportunities, choose the scenarios to test and agree with finance how financial effects will be described.

  4. February

    Calculate Scope 1 and 2 emissions and draft the disclosures, with judgements and assumptions documented.

  5. March onwards

    Review with the auditor and audit committee, approve and publish with the financial statements, or later if you use the first-year relief. Then start Scope 3 data collection for FY2028.

Your timetable depends on your financial year-end and your regulator's deadline for the annual financial statements. Work back from that date.

How we help

Your first ISSB report, on time

We help companies across the GCC produce their first IFRS S1 and S2 reports and the emissions data behind them, working from the UAE with on-site sessions in Doha whenever they help.

If you are not sure where you stand, our ESG Readiness Evaluation is a short, fixed-fee review against IFRS S1 and S2 that tells you what to do first. See also our reporting service, our carbon accounting service and our overview of ESG regulation in Qatar.

Last checked October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice; confirm your own requirements with your regulator and advisers.

Common questions

Who has to report under IFRS S1 and S2 in Qatar?

Companies listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange's Main Market under the QFMA Corporate Governance Code, banks and insurers regulated by the Qatar Central Bank (listed or not), and QFC Category A firms plus any other QFC firms the QFCRA designates.

When is the first ISSB report due in Qatar?

The rules apply to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2026. For a December year-end, the first report covers 2026 and is published in 2027.

Can we publish our sustainability disclosures after the financial statements?

Banks and insurers regulated by the QCB, and QFC firms, can use a first-year relief to publish later. Listed companies under the QFMA cannot: their disclosures go out with the annual financial statements.

When do we have to report Scope 3 emissions?

Qatar has extended the ISSB's Scope 3 relief by a year. For a December year-end that means Scope 3 is first required in the FY2028 report, but supplier data takes time to collect, so it is worth starting in 2027.

We are not regulated by QFMA, QCB or QFCRA. Does this affect us?

Often, yes. Banks and insurers need emissions and climate information from the companies they lend to and insure, so expect questionnaires from your bank, insurer and large customers.

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Tell us where you are on sustainability and we will suggest the right first step.

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