State Regulators Press For Broad ESG Disclosures On Climate-Related Financial Risk

A dozen state attorneys general—led by California and New York—are calling on the SEC to mandate broad ESG disclosures for climate-related financial risks.  These comments reflect that certain state regulators believe that all SEC-regulated U.S. companies:

• Are already subject to climate-related financial risks that many companies are not presently disclosing;
• Should be disclosing financial risks regardless of industry—specifically identifying technology companies as primary targets for disclosure obligations beyond the energy and agriculture sectors; and
• Should be modeling and disclosing their direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, as well as modeling climate change implications for capital allocation, research and development, costs and revenues, operations, assets (including reserves), and finances.