[ad_1]
Gary Gensler, chair of the SEC.Evelyn Hockstein/CNP via ZUMA Press
This story was originally published in the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
The US’s top financial watchdog proposed on Monday that publicly traded companies report information on their greenhouse-gas emissions, and even those of their suppliers and consumers, in one of the Biden administration’s most sweeping environmental actions to date.
Some politicians and members from the business community are opposed to the new Securities and Exchange Commission rules. The rules will be open for public comment for at most two months before final rules can be released.
“I am pleased to support today’s proposal because, if adopted, it would provide investors with consistent, comparable and decision-useful information for making their investment decisions, and it would provide consistent and clear reporting obligations for issuers,” said SEC chair Gary Gensler.
The proposal, which has been in development for over a decade, would require companies to disclose their carbon footprints. Some companies, such as Apple and Microsoft, publish detailed analyses of their carbon footprints. Others have been reluctant to disclose.
According to the proposal, publicly traded companies would need to report greenhouse-gas emission and obtain independent certification. Scope 3 emissions, which is the reporting of emissions from both their supply chain and consumers, would be required by some companies.
Republicans and some industry groups have already begun lobbying against the new requirements, which they argue would increase costs and go beyond the SEC’s mandate.
In a speech last year Gensler said the rules would introduce consistency to company reporting at a time when investors were increasingly concerned about the impact of climate on businesses.
“Today, investors increasingly want to understand the climate risks of the companies whose stock they own or might buy. Investors large and small, representing literally tens to trillions of dollars, want this information to make informed decisions about whether to invest, buy, or vote.
Investors are looking for consistent, comparable, and decision-useful disclosures so they can put their money in companies that fit their needs,” he said.
