A group of lawmakers recently forwarded correspondence to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, urging the withdrawal of a proposed rule regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
U.S. Sens. John Kennedy (R-LA) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined 17 colleagues in sending the letter, criticizing proposed guidance requiring publicly-traded companies to disclose GHG emissions and other climate change-related information.
“The SEC is not tasked with environmental regulation, nor has Congress amended the SEC’s regulatory authority to pursue the proposed climate disclosures,” the legislators wrote. “Further, there are serious questions about whether the SEC has the technical expertise to assess climate models and underlying assumptions used in companies’ metrics and disclosures. Without such technical expertise, the SEC will likely review submissions arbitrarily, leading to uneven or unfair application.”
The SEC’s proposed rule is not within the agency’s mission to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets and facilitate capital formation.
Additionally, the guidance would impose billions of dollars in new compliance costs on public companies, negatively impact investors facing reduced shareholder returns and discourage companies from going public.
“The SEC is limiting the public’s input on this proposed rule by restricting the comment period to only 60 days, which is insufficient for such an enormously complex and consequential rule,” the legislators concluded. “This proposed rule will only further allocate capital away from domestic fossil fuel producers, increase the costs of energy for everyday Americans and transfer investment to dirtier sources of energy overseas.”