Digging into the SEC climate disclosure rules

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved new rules this month on what information companies must disclose about their greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, but notably dropped more stringent requirements that the commission initially proposed. 

Despite being halted by lawsuits, the rules are a significant win for climate transparency. But they’re not as strong as existing climate disclosure regulations in California and the European Union, where many multinational corporations do business anyway.

So how big of a deal are the new SEC rules?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Mallory Thomas, risk advisory partner at consulting and accounting firm Baker Tilly US. The two talk about the details of the new rules and cover topics like:

• The rules’ requirements for disclosing greenhouse gasses and climate risks
• How the rules compare to European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and California’s twin climate disclosure laws
• Which companies are required to comply and under what conditions
• How standardized reporting may help with comparability across companies 

Recommended resources:

Baker Tilly: SEC announces final rules for climate-related disclosures

Deloitte: A landmark ruling for ESG disclosure requirements

Reuters: US climate rule will boost sustainable accounting industry

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