After many anticipated months of anxiously waiting for answers from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on their proposed climate disclosure rule, investors and companies will now have to wait even longer. Last month, former SEC Commissioner Robert Jackson disclosed his recent intel that suggests the rule will face yet another delay. This time, companies affected by the rule will have to wait until later this fall, at the earliest.
Since the rule’s proposal over a year ago, the SEC has faced widespread criticism. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce classified the proposed rule as “rooted in conjecture” and stated that “some aspects of the rule may end up interfering with corporate decision making.” In addition, House GOP Members on the House Committee on Financial Services, including Representatives Roger Williams (R-Texas) and Byron Donalds (R-Fla), reemphasized the idea that the SEC is “making the determination and definition [of climate disclosure] without Congressional authority.” On top of it all, the very companies, such as General Motors Company and United Airlines, who would be impacted by the rule say it is “too expensive, complicated and far-reaching.”
Yet the SEC continues to turn a blind eye and carry on with the idea that it is advancing a rule that will help investors.
With the proposed rule, the SEC has continued to overstep its congressionally mandated authority, attempting to enact regulatory burdens in areas in which it does not have jurisdiction. The SEC should follow the advice of members of Congress, state attorneys general, affected companies, and other critics and withdraw this flawed rule altogether.
The SEC continues to emphasize the fact that it has received thousands of comments on the proposed disclosure requirements, yet it continues to leave companies who will be most impacted by the rule in the dark. As the SEC takes these extended months to review their proposed rule, it would be in the best interest of investors and public companies of all sizes to be fully transparent on its future actions.