On July 28, 2021, Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Chair Gary Gensler, speaking at a webinar titled “Climate and Global Financial Markets,” set forth certain considerations to guide his staff in developing a rule that will require mandatory disclosure on climate risks by the end of 2021.
Up until now, SEC guidelines on climate disclosure were voluntary, resulting in inconsistent disclosure among public companies. In March 2021, the SEC solicited comments from the public on climate change disclosures and, according to Chair Gensler, more than 550 unique comment letters were submitted, three quarters of which supported mandatory climate disclosure rules. Chair Gensler believes that “consistent, comparable, decision-useful disclosures” would be beneficial to companies and investors alike.
