Gabriel Rosenberg and Margaret Tahyar are partners and Betty Huber is counsel at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. This post is based on a Davis Polk memorandum by Mr. Rosenberg, Ms. Tahyar, Ms. Huber, Robert Cohen, Joseph Hall and Eric Lewin.
The SEC’s request for public input on climate disclosures attracted 297 institutional comments totaling 3,290 pages. The views range from questioning the SEC’s authority to imploring the SEC to mandate comprehensive, internationally aligned and assured disclosures in SEC filings. This post summarizes thirty comment letters we consider both important and representative of differing stakeholder views, in anticipation of a formal SEC proposal expected in or before October 2021.
Overview of the request for public input
The SEC took a first step toward the adoption of climate disclosure requirements by issuing a request for public input (the RFPI) on March 15, 2021. The RFPI requested comments from investors, registrants and other market participants “[i]n light of demand for climate change information and questions about whether current disclosures adequately inform investors.” To facilitate the SEC staff’s view of existing disclosure rules, the RFPI requested comment on fifteen questions, ranging from how the SEC could best regulate climate disclosures to whether the SEC should expand its focus from climate disclosures alone to a focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters as part of a broader, comprehensive disclosure framework.
