Tim Mohin: SEC Climate Rule by March?
There is new hope that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will issue its long-awaited climate disclosure rule soon. A draft of the final rule has been circulated to the SEC’s five commissioners, and a meeting to vote on the rule is expected by the end of March.
Readers of this newsletter have been watching this policy for nearly two years now and are rightly skeptical that the rule will be finalized soon, and candidly, it’s not yet clear this will happen in March. Also, there is no reliable information about the final requirements of the rule.
One thing that is certain is that the rule will be litigated, similar to the litigation delaying California’s climate disclosure laws. Assuming the case is heard by the US Supreme Court, it could be affected by the decision in a case challenging a legal doctrine, known as Chevron deference, that gives federal agencies substantial latitude to decide how to interpret the power Congress gave them. Court watchers predict this doctrine will be overturned, potentially upending more than 40 years of US federal policy, including this new policy.
The SEC is well aware of these trends and, as we reported, Chair Gary Gensler said possible lawsuits challenging the agency’s proposed climate disclosure rule would be “part of our democracy,” adding that the SEC is working to craft a rule that holds up to judicial scrutiny.
This Smart Read article is contributed by Tim Mohin, Global Sustainability Leader, BCG. Every week ESG News delivers smart commentary from ESG practitioners and experts to unpack issues of the week. Submit your ESG Smart Read to editor@esgnews.com
Tim Mohin is weekly smart read contributor to ESG News. Tim is globally recognized sustainable business executive. He is a partner and director for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in climate and sustainability.
Prior to BCG, Tim was the EVP and Chief Sustainability Officer with leading carbon accounting software company – Persefoni . He is the former Chief Executive of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the world’s largest sustainability reporting standard.
He brings more than 20 years’ experience leading sustainability functions at three Fortune 500 companies – Intel, Apple and AMD – Tim has deep experience developing strategies to embed sustainability into business. Tim also led the development of environmental policy in the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Senate, including the Clean Air Act. He is a sustainability advisor to the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom, the Board of BASF, Workiva and others. Previously, Tim was a founder and Chairman of the Board for the Responsible Business Alliance.
He is the author of Changing Business from the Inside Out and a frequent speaker and writer on sustainability and corporate responsibility. Tim writes a weekly ESG Newsletter, and is one of LinkedIn’s 2022 Top Voices in the Green Economy. He is consistently recognized in the top 20 of Corporate Social Responsibility Influence Leaders.
