Friday, March 22, 2019

Seeking a mandate for climate-related financial disclosures by corporations to investors

In January 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) required corporations to disclose the effects of climate change on corporations and their investors and for this purpose issued guidance and requirements for disclosures related to business and legal developments on climate change. The SEC guidance required to disclose to its business and subsidiaries, information relating to its products and services, environmental information, form of organization and other factors. The SEC, further required registrants to provide information on “significant factors” that make an investment in the registrant speculative or risky or the substantial effects of environmental legislation on the registrant’s  financial condition or operations. With regard to disclosures relating to the effects of climate change on the business itself, the guiding regulations lacked clarity and failed to call for specific details in their publicly filed disclosure documents that could be treated as actionable. Subsequently, the SEC has not taken forward the mandate for climate related financial disclosures intended to protect the interests of investors.

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