SEC to require disclosure of climate change risks

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Source: Washington Post

SEC to require disclosure of climate change risks

By Zachary A. Goldfarb
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 28, 2010

A politically divided Securities and Exchange Commission voted on Wednesday to make clear when companies must provide information to investors about the business risks associated with climate change.

The commission, in a 3 to 2 vote, decided to require that companies disclose in their public filings the impact of climate change on their businesses -- from new regulations or legislation they may face domestically or abroad to potential changes in economic trends or physical risks to a company.

Chairman Mary L. Schapiro and the two Democrats on the commission supported the new requirements, while the two Republicans vehemently opposed them.

"I can only conclude that the purpose of this release is to place the imprimatur of the commission on the agenda of the social and environmental policy lobby, an agenda that falls outside of our expertise and beyond our fundamental mission of investor protection," Republican commissioner Kathleen L. Casey said.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/27/AR2010012704502.html?hpid=sec-business

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