InfoBytes Blog
NYDFS, state AGs offer recommendations on climate disclosures to SEC
On June 14, NYDFS and a coalition of 12 state attorneys general led by the California attorney general submitted separate letters (see here and here) in response to a request for input by Acting SEC Chair Allison Herren Lee, providing recommendations on disclosing information on climate change risks that entities are facing. Among other things, NYDFS recommends that the SEC: (i) make disclosures reliable, balanced, understandable, consistent over time, comparable among institutions within a sector, and provided in a timely manner; (ii) provide disclosure of the corporate governance and board oversight relating to climate-related issues and risks, such as policies, procedures, internal controls, and management information systems; (iii) disclose how an institution identifies, assesses, monitors, and manages climate-related risks and how such risks are integrated; and (iv) encourage agencies to take an equitable approach “that reflects each institution’s exposure to climate risks and the nature, scale, size, and complexity of its business.” NYDFS notes that “[d]eveloping and managing standards related to the disclosure of risks related to climate change requires collaboration among state and federal regulators and the industries that they regulate.”
The AGs advise the SEC to require that private and public companies analyze climate change-related risks altering their businesses and disclose that information, asserting that the current disclosure requirements under the SEC are insufficient. The letter includes recommendations, such as requiring SEC-regulated firms to (i) make annual disclosures of their greenhouse gas emissions and any plans to address their emissions; (ii) evaluate and disclose the potential impacts of climate change and climate change regulation; and (iii) disclose corporate governance and risk management practices as they relate to climate change.