Wall Street-listed companies must spread their greenhouse gas emissions

Wall Street-listed firms will have to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and exposure to climate change, according to a new regulation adopted Monday by the US stock exchange regulator (SEC)

The measure, which was now open to public comment, follows similar provisions from regulators in Japan and Europe and seeks to standardize reporting on emissions.

“Climate risks pose financial risks to companies,” said SEC President Gary Gensler.

Gensler argued that the measure could provide “reliable information on climate risks in order to make investment decisions.”

The new regulations would be in force between 2024 and 2026. Small businesses could be exempt from the measure.

“This is a turning point,” said Allison Herren Lee, a Democratic commissioner who supports change.

But Hester Peirce, the only Republican member of the SEC and the only one of the four commissioners to vote against the provision, argued that the current rules take sufficient account of climate risk and the new measure distorts the agency's regulatory mission.

“This forces investors to see companies through the eyes of a set of stakeholders, for whom a company's climate reputation is as important or more important than its financial performance,” Pierce said.

Many environmental shareholders and large investors are pressuring companies to take action against climate change.

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