SEC Asks Companies To Divulge Pollution and Climate Risks

The US Securities and Exchange Commission proposed new rules today that could require companies to update investors annually on how much planet-heating pollution they're pumping out and how that pollution could ultimately affect their earnings. From a report: A slew of companies from Apple to Amazon have pledged to become carbon neutral in coming decades. Consistent updates on how much pollution they generate help ensure that climate pledges aren't just greenwashing or making false promises. The proposed rules are also supposed to protect investors as companies cope with disasters linked to climate change, like more extreme weather. "We are concerned that the existing disclosures of climate-related risks do not provide investors with the detailed and reliable climate-related information they need to make informed investments and voting decisions," Renee Jones, director of the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance, said during an SEC open meeting today. If the rules go into effect, public companies would need to share greenhouse gas emissions from their operations and electricity use. The SEC also sought to hold some companies responsible for indirect emissions that come from their supply chains and consumers using their products, a more contentious disclosure. Some companies have excluded these indirect emissions from climate pledges, arguing that this pollution is out of their control. The SEC said today that smaller companies won't have to disclose those indirect emissions, and larger companies only need to share the indirect emissions that are "material" or essential for investors' understanding of a company's financial situation -- a murky distinction.

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