The House Financial Services Committee has announced the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled: “Oversight of the SEC’s Proposed Climate Disclosure Rule: A Future of Legal Hurdles.”
The hearing is scheduled to take place on Thursday, January 18, 2024, at 10 AM ET.
ESG topics [environmental, social, and governance] have been at the forefront of the SEC’s regulatory agenda. Many insiders have criticized the Commission for going beyond its statutory mission of providing efficient markets, investor protection, and capital formation. Climate disclosure is a prime example of the Commission’s attempt to turn the agency into the “Securities and Environmental Commission.” Critics have pointed to the fact that mandating climate impact will saddle public firms with an unknown cost as they attempt to adhere to an obviously nebulous subject. Some have predicted it will foster a nascent industry of climate impact consultants as reporting companies attempt to satisfy arbitrary demands. At the same time, climate impact disclosure will spill into private firms as reporting companies attempt to quantify the climate impact of suppliers and partners.
The Subcommittee has yet to announce the list of witnesses who will testify at the hearing, which will be live-streamed on the Commitee’s website.
