On March 21, 2022, the SEC finally issued a proposed rule on
mandatory climate disclosures. This proposed rule has been
expected for some time--it was widely anticipated to be a
centerpiece of the Biden Administration's climate agenda, and
there have been a number of statements by members of the SEC, and
the Biden Administration generally, about these proposed
disclosures since before Biden became President. Further,
these mandatory climate disclosures align the United States with
other developed economies, particularly the EU and the UK, which
have focused on financial disclosures related to climate change as
a useful tactic to promote environmentally-conscious
policies.
The overall content of these rules is in accordance with what
many commenters had anticipated. The SEC has used the TCFD
guidelines as a basis for the proposed regulations, and has also
mandated certain disclosures relating to GHG emissions (albeit with
certain exclusions for smaller companies).
