Thirty-eight lawmakers are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to strengthen climate emissions reporting requirements for publicly traded companies
The message shows progressive anxiety that the agency may not be prepared to push as hard as it can to force executives to disclose their carbon footprints. Its landmark rule on the issue is currently on hold pending litigation.
“While the rule is an important step forward that will provide investors with key information about publicly traded companies’ climate risks and emissions, the rule was significantly weakened in response to intense corporate lobbying over the past two years, in ways that offer too much discretion to corporate managers to decide what information must be disclosed,” the lawmakers say in a June 4 letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
They were referring to the agency’s decision to exclude reporting requirements for “Scope 3 emissions” — those generated through a company’s supply chain.
