"WASHINGTON — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved a rule that will require some public companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, after last-minute revisions that weakened the rule in the face of strong pushback from companies.
The rule was one of the most anticipated in recent years from the nation’s top financial regulator, drawing more than 24,000 comments from companies, auditors, legislators and trade groups over a two-year process. It brings the U.S. closer to the European Union and California, which moved ahead earlier with corporate climate disclosure rules.
The rule passed 3-2, with three Democratic commissioners supporting it and two Republicans opposed.
Publicly traded companies will be required to say more in their financial statements about the risks climate change poses to their operations and their own contributions to the problem. But the version approved was weaker than an earlier draft, with changes that weren’t made public until Wednesday’s meeting."
Suman Naishadham reports for the Associated Press March 6, 2024.
SEE ALSO:
"New Rules Will Force U.S. Firms To Divulge Their Role In Warming The Planet" (Washington Post)
"SEC Finalizes Weakened Rule To Make Companies Disclose Climate Information" (The Hill)
"SEC Scales Back New Pollution-Disclosure Rules for Companies" (Bloomberg Evnvironment)
"US Regulators Approve Significantly Scaled Back Climate Disclosure Rule" (Guardian)
"S.E.C. Approves New Climate Rules Far Weaker Than Originally Proposed" (New York Times)
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