With the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposed climate disclosure rule decision lingering, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Editorial Board took to its platform to give the SEC Chair, Gary Gensler, his own performance review.
For starters, WSJ noted that Gensler has drastically increased the number of rule-makings on the SEC agenda, proposing 26 new rules in the first eight months of this year. That stands to be nearly double the number of rules in 2020 and 2021.
Well, the evaluation found that businesses were warning Gensler that his “fast-and-furious regulation” could cause damage across the economy. This would hold true with the proposed climate disclosure rule, which would require public companies of all sizes to track and report direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. This requirement would force these companies to provide financing and new levels of bureaucracy for the reporting requirements. This action will force businesses to use their valuable investment resources, diverting these resources away from material business operations.
In addition to the proposed rule’s onerous conditions, the comment period for this proposed rule has faced extensions. Its most recent setback was an extension of the comment period into November due to technological issues that hindered the ability for some comments to be submitted.
The SEC continues to face major challenges pertaining to a rule that would, in fact, do the opposite of what it promises by forcing companies to track their impacts down the value chain. With this rule and Gensler’s goals for the Commission, investor protection and the financial stability of small businesses is now merely an afterthought.