On February 8th, the Securities and Exchange Commission published in the Federal Register a final rule entitled “Commission Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change”. This document provides guidance to public companies on what climate-change related matters must be disclosed to the public under SEC’s existing disclosure requirements.
Depending on the facts and circumstances of a particular company, the SEC states that its disclosure rules may be triggered by climate change matters, including:
(1) The impact of federal and state legislation and regulations on the company’s business, including legislation and regulations that are “pending” (meaning not yet passed into law);
(2) The impact of international treaties or accords, such as the Kyoto Protocol, that may impact a company’s business;
(3) The impact of indirect consequences of regulation or business trends, such as a decreased (or increased) demand for certain goods and services, that may impact a company’s business; and
(4) Physical impacts of climate change, weather severity, sea levels, the arability of farmland, and water availability and quality, that may impact a company’s business.
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
