La norma della SEC sulla divulgazione del clima compie un passo positivo, ma alla fine non è all'altezza della situazione
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to approve a final rule on climate risk disclosure requirements for publicly traded companies. This decision was an opportunity for the SEC to ensure investors have access to consistent, comparable, and transparent climate risk information. While the rule requires companies to provide some new climate information around their emissions, unfortunately, the Commission approved a rule that comes up short.
“The limited disclosure requirements in the SEC rule are a positive step, but not enough,” said Kathy Fallon, Director of Land & Climate at Clean Air Task Force (CATF). “Unlike the SEC’s original proposal, the final rule completely excludes scope 3 emissions, which are often the largest share of emissions. It also only mandates disclosure of scope 1 and 2 emissions for certain companies and when they are deemed material to investors. By watering down their reporting requirements, the SEC has missed a critical opportunity to shore-up the integrity of corporate climate claims – that’s bad for companies, investors, and the climate.”
“It’s like buying a house and only receiving the disclosures that the seller thinks are relevant to you, if you receive any at all,” said Fallon. “And while the rule requires some reporting of carbon offsets, the scant details limit transparency into when and how companies use carbon offsets and the quality of those offsets, which is particularly important when companies use offsets to meet their stated climate targets.”
CATF’s comments on the proposed rule highlight how unreliable and poor-quality carbon offsets are a widespread problem that enable corporations to exaggerate their climate commitments to the detriment of real climate outcomes. In the absence of public reporting requirements, there’s little incentive for companies to provide transparent and detailed information relating to the quality of their carbon offsets. Without action from the SEC, the comments argue, investors and consumers will continue to have a limited ability to verify, evaluate, or compare corporations’ climate claims.
“Too often, companies have free rein to talk up their climate actions without providing the math on greenhouse gas emissions and offsets,” added Fallon. “Now, at least when the rule requires disclosure, companies will have to show their work.”
Contatto con la stampa
Natalie Volk, responsabile delle comunicazioni, [email protected], +1 703-785-9580
Circa Clean Air Task Force
Clean Air Task Force (CATF) è un'organizzazione globale senza scopo di lucro che lavora per salvaguardarsi dai peggiori impatti del cambiamento climatico catalizzando il rapido sviluppo e la diffusione di energia a basso contenuto di carbonio e di altre tecnologie per la protezione del clima. Con oltre 25 anni di esperienza riconosciuta a livello internazionale in materia di politica climatica e un forte impegno nell'esplorare tutte le potenziali soluzioni, CATF è un gruppo di advocacy pragmatico e non ideologico con le idee coraggiose necessarie per affrontare il cambiamento climatico. CATF ha uffici a Boston, Washington D.C. e Bruxelles, con personale che lavora virtualmente in tutto il mondo. Visitate catf.us e seguite @cleanaircatf.
