Acting SEC Chair Signals Eroding Support for Climate Disclosure Rule Litigation
WASHINGTON — In a rambling statement, Acting U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Mark Uyeda, made clear that the SEC is poised to shift course away from defending the Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors, a crucial, albeit insufficient step towards transparency that the SEC has been defending in court. In his statement, Uyeda questioned the statutory authority of the SEC to adopt the rule and stated that the current rule does not reflect his views. In response, Clara Vondrich, senior policy counsel with Public Citizen’s Climate Program, issued the following statement:
“Mark Uyeda is yet another independent regulator doing Trump’s bidding. This move demonstrates a fundamental disregard for retail investors who need clear and consistent financial risk disclosures so they can invest their hard-earned savings wisely. Climate-related risk is among the most significant financial risks raining down on our economy now and is only getting worse—fires in LA alone are expected to exceed $250 billion in costs.
“Simply ignoring the risk won’t make it go away for investors, nor for the economy and our financial system. We are barreling toward a financial crisis that will harm everyone, and transparency around climate risk is more needed now than ever before. Corporations must come clean about their financial vulnerability to climate-related financial risk so investors, including pension fund trustees and fiduciaries, can move their money into smarter investments that will ensure prosperity for themselves and the planet.”
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