05.17.22
Fight Brews Over Cost of SEC Climate Change Rules
by: Jean Eaglesham; Paul Kiernan
The cost of proposed rules on climate disclosure from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is emerging as a key battleground. The SEC estimates the plan will raise the cost to businesses to comply with its disclosure rules from $3.9 billion to $10.2 billion. The costs are a rough estimate and are high because they require companies to disclose data that some haven’t measured before on their climate impact and the risks that climate change poses to them. A survey earlier this year of 35 big investors by green consulting-firm ERM International Group found they spent an average of $1.4 million a year each on collecting, analyzing and reporting climate data. The most expensive item was $487,000 on ratings firms, consultants and data providers, many selling information that would become more readily available under the SEC rule.
Read the full article on Wall Street Journal