Wolters Kluwer senior legal analyst highlights recent developments on the SEC’s proposed disclosure rules in light of the public comment period’s new June 17 deadline

What: ESG Spotlight

Why:  On March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued proposed rules that would impose substantial new disclosure obligations for SEC registrants and require public companies to include extensive climate-related information in their public filings. With the recent 30-day extension to the proposal’s original May 20^th end date for public comment, battle lines over the proposed rules are starting to emerge as interested parties weigh in on the rules’ potential reach and impacts.

See related article: SEC Extends Comment Period for Proposed Rules on Climate-Related Disclosures, Reopens Comment Periods for Proposed Rules Regarding Private Fund Advisers and Regulation ATS

In defending the SEC’s historic risk disclosure proposal at a recent public briefing, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler underscored that the agency’s core bargain with investors from the 1930s that investors get to decide which risks to take, as long as public companies provide full and fair disclosures. Gensler again asserted the need for SEC action to mandate climate-related disclosures and information relevant to investors’ decisions. Meanwhile, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are voicing opposition to the proposal with promises of court action if the rules are approved in their current form.

Who: Brad Rosen, J.D., Senior Legal Analyst

Brad Rosen is a Senior Legal Analyst for Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. For more than 25 years, Brad served as general counsel for a number of firms involved in the financial markets and has provided legal counsel across a wide range of transactional and litigation matters. Brad’s areas of expertise and focus include legal and regulatory developments related to climate change, sustainability, and ESG matters, futures and derivatives, and digital assets. Brad also closely tracks legal practice and technological innovation.

“With congressional and industry opponents claiming the SEC’s proposed climate rules far exceed the agency’s legal authority, Chairman Gensler appears to be readying for a legal fight by focusing on the Commission’s ‘long tradition’ of mandating relevant risk disclosures, as well as overwhelming demands from investors for consistent, comparable and useful information on climate-related risks.” — Brad Rosen, J.D., Wolters Kluwer Senior Legal Analyst

Source: PRNewswire