"The Securities and Exchange Commission is set to vote on a groundbreaking rule later this month that for the first time would require public companies to disclose the risks they face from climate change.
The agency posted notice this morning alerting the public that its five-member commission will meet on March 21 to consider proposed amendments that would “enhance and standardize” companies’ climate-related disclosures for investors.
It’s a major development. Investors and finance-focused environmentalists for years have called on regulators including the SEC to consider how climate change could affect the institutions they oversee. Mandated climate reporting, observers say, is perhaps the most obvious — and critical — first step in that process."