The SEC would extend beyond its mandate and face “serious democratic legitimacy concerns” if it advances plans to require corporate disclosures on environmental, social, and governance issues, agency Commissioner Hester Peirce said.
ESG matters, such as climate change, are best left to Congress, state legislatures, and civil society organizations, not the Securities and Exchange Commission, Peirce, a Republican, said Tuesday at a Brookings Institution discussion on the issues.
Democrats in Congress and the SEC have longed pushed for more ESG information, while Republicans have disputed its necessity. The agency, now under Democratic Chairman Gary Gensler, has made ESG disclosure mandates ...