In Major Blow To Sustainability Advocates, SEC Poised To Make Climate Disclosure Optional - Forbes

Overview:

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has scheduled a vote on the Climate Related Disclosure Standards for March 6.
The proposed CRDS would require publicly traded companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and environmental concerns, but recent reports indicate that the SEC may make the CRDS optional and drop Scope 3 reporting.
The CRDS development is similar to the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the IFRS Foundation Sustainability Disclosure Standards, with the latter adopting the IFRS Standards for global sustainability and climate change reporting.
Legal challenges are expected from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Republican controlled states due to concerns over the SEC’s authority to implement mandatory reporting, specifically Scope 1 and Scope 2.
The SEC is facing pushback from sustainability advocates for potentially weakening the CRDS, which could become mandatory only if companies disclose a public commitment to reducing GHG emissions.