Acting SEC Chair Allison Herren Lee issued a February 24 statement directing the Commission Staff to review public-company climate-change-related disclosures. The Staff will assess current disclosures in light of the SEC’s prior 2010 guidance and “update” that guidance.
The prior guidance did not mandate specific climate disclosures, but instead focused on how climate-change issues might affect existing disclosure obligations regarding, for example, material legal compliance or litigation issues, material risks, and the effect of known trends, developments or a ...
The U.S. Climate Finance Working Group released its February 18, 2021 policy statement, “Financing a U.S. Transition to a Sustainable Low-Carbon Economy.” The Working Group comprises eleven of America’s leading financial-services industry associations, broadly representing “Wall Street.”
With climate-change initiatives among the top priorities announced by the new Biden administration, the Working Group
“seeks to engage with incoming leaders and members of Congress on a bipartisan basis to help establish a shared vision for U.S. climate policy. By so doing ...
On February 9, Acting SEC Chair Lee announced she was restoring the delegated authority of Enforcement Division senior officials to issue subpoenas to compel document production and sworn testimony without the need of a Formal Order of Investigation by the full Commission.
Until 2009, the SEC could only issue compulsory processes (for document production and testimony) under a Formal Order of Investigation issued by the Commission. In 2009, however, then-Chair Mary Shapiro delegated that authority to the Director of Enforcement for a trial period of one year. The Final Order, No ...