SEC’s Gensler Seeks Climate Rule ‘Solutions’ to Dispel Concerns

The SEC’s climate disclosure plan still needs to appropriately respond to unease about its corporate greenhouse gas emissions reporting requirements before finalization, agency Chair Gary Gensler said.

Gensler told senators Tuesday he asked Securities and Exchange Commission staff to develop “solutions” to concerns small business owners and others have raised about proposed requirements for large public companies to disclose emissions from their supply chains and other indirect sources. He made the remarks in response to questions from Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who’s repeatedly pushed Gensler to better ensure small farmers would avoid reporting burdens under the rule if they sell to big companies.

The SEC is looking at “how we can find an appropriate path forward,” Gensler said at a Senate Banking Committee hearing, without elaborating on potential changes.

• Republicans and some Democrats have worried that agriculture giants would compel their small suppliers to provide greenhouse gas data, even though the proposal only calls for estimates of Scope 3 emissions, referring to those that come from outside companies, like supply chains.
• Gensler declined to say when he expects the SEC to adopt the climate rule, but the agency has targeted October in its latest rulemaking agenda.
• “It is time for you to get this job done,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said at the hearing.