Tag: climate-related financial metrics

Final SEC climate disclosure rules [UPDATED]— Part III Financial Information

On March 6,  the SEC adopted final rules “to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures by public companies and in public offerings.” Even though, in the final rules, the SEC scaled back significantly on the proposal—including putting the kibosh on the controversial mandate for Scope 3 GHG emissions reporting and requiring disclosure of Scope 1 and/or Scope 2 GHG emissions on a phased-in basis only by accelerated and large accelerated filers and only when those emissions are material—all kinds of litigation immediately ensued. In one of those cases, a petition for review of the final rule was filed on March 6 in the Fifth Circuit by Liberty Energy Inc. and Nomad Proppant Services LLC, followed on March 8 by a motion asking the Court to issue an administrative stay and a stay pending review of the rule. As discussed in this PubCo post, on March 15, in a one-sentence order, the Fifth Circuit granted Petitioners’ motion for an administrative stay. How long this pause will continue is anyone’s guess; its longevity may well be determined by another court designated by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to hear the multiple pending challenges to the rules, to which SEC alludes in its response. But, given that the stay is temporary, below is Part III of a revision and update of my earlier post on the climate disclosure rules. Part III addresses “Financial Statement Effects.”