Mahony Partners

Tag: climate risk disclosure

04
Apr
2024

Communicating Climate Risk

Categories: Climate Change
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 comprehensive information regarding their climate-related risks a... Read More
17
Jul
2023

Climate Regulations Are Closer Than You Think

Categories: Climate Change
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 start as early as next year, and they will affect many US companies. As these regulations come into force, US companies should take steps now to understand their scope and prepare appropriate communications and compliance materials. For exam... Read More
15
Nov
2021

The Underreported Success of COP26

Categories: Climate Change, Financial Services
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. The successes noted by most media accounts included agreements to reduce methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas, and begin the phase-out (ok, "phase down") of coal. The most significant to us, however, was setting a strong fra... Read More
28
Jul
2020

A Wall Street Boost for Climate Disclosure

Categories: Uncategorized
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 a coalition to support investment in climate solutions and Read More
20
Jul
2020

Small Steps Forward on Climate Reporting

Categories: Climate Change
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 that are making insufficient progress integrating climate risk in their business strategies and disclosures. The firm voted against directors or board proposals at just 22% of these companies, and the rest it put ... Read More
23
Oct
2019

US Companies are starting to take climate disclosure seriously

Categories: Climate Change, Taking & Managing Risk
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 (TCFD).  The report (“The State of Climate Risk Disclosure: A Survey of US Companies”) includes results f... Read More
11
Jun
2019

Investors Weigh the Limits of Voluntary Climate Actions

Categories: Climate Change
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. Read More
21
May
2019

Why Does Jay Powell Ignore Climate Risk?

Categories: Climate Change, Financial Services
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 even to use the term “climate change.” It appears only twice, once in each of the first two paragraphs. After that, he adopts the term “severe weather events,” which not only has the advantage o... Read More
06
May
2019

Pressure Grows on SEC to Act on Climate Disclosure

Categories: Climate Change, Financial Services
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 only briefly at the end of his remarks. It was just a few sentences, but his words were the most anyone from the SEC has said in years on a topic of growing importance to investors. Read More
16
Jul
2018

One Year After TCFD, Climate Disclosure is Lagging

Categories: Climate Change
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 obligation to disc... Read More
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