In one of its most anticipated rules, the SEC last month adopted a requirement for companies to disclose climate-related risks, completing a process that began two years ago with the release of the agency’s proposed climate disclosure rule. While the final rule is more narrow than initially proposed, it requires publicly traded companies to disclose […]
When it comes to climate regulations, if you’re only watching the SEC you could be caught by surprise. Because while the SEC recently delayed its final rules on climate disclosure until later this year, the European Union (EU) is moving ahead with new rules on climate, sustainability, corporate responsibility and business transparency. The new rules […]
The headlines marking the end of the COP26 global climate summit were mostly gloomy, much like the weather in Glasgow. Reports focused on unenforceable pledges by countries to cut carbon levels and tepid increases in funding for poor countries most affected by climate change. But there were significant accomplishments last week in Glasgow and beyond. […]
Hardly a day goes by without major news about climate risk and how companies are responding to it. Amid this onslaught it can be hard to spot what’s truly significant. In just the past week, a group of investors sounded the alarm about the financial risks of climate change, Microsoft’s billion-dollar climate innovation fund joined […]
Making progress on corporate climate risk disclosure is slow work. Partly it’s because the topic is complex, but it’s also because institutions are slow to change, even those that set themselves at the forefront. Last week brought two examples. First, investment giant BlackRock released its sustainability report, in which it said it identified 244 companies […]
More US companies are preparing to disclose their climate-related financial risks, but they face challenges to measure these risks and integrate them in their financial reporting. These were among the findings of a new report that explores the extent to which US companies have adopted the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures […]
Investors who follow climate risk have had a dizzying few weeks. Beyond the reports about record-setting floods in the Midwest and predictions of a climate apocalypse, there were climate-related shareholder votes at two big oil companies and a progress report on corporate climate disclosures. Important as they were, these events held little good news for […]
What US regulators think about the risks of climate change is a lingering puzzle. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell recently offered his perspective in a brief letter, his first public comments on the matter. It was a gem of misdirection and avoidance. The first thing that is notable about Mr. Powell’s letter is how it strains […]
These days it seems a U.S. official can mention climate change only when they’re outside the country. A case in point is William Hinman, who heads the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance and addressed climate risk at a conference in London. Mr. Hinman spoke about the disclosure of complex risks, and he mentioned climate risk […]
It’s been a year since the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) released its recommendations. Backed by the G20 finance ministers and chaired by Michael Bloomberg, the TCFD offered concrete guidance for public companies on how to report risks and opportunities arising from climate change. The TCFD left no doubt that boards have an […]