On March 6, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to adopt new climate disclosure rules for listed companies. These are the first rules of their kind in the United States, and this decision marks a significant development in corporate climate reporting.

The implementation of the SEC climate disclosure rules is currently paused, so the timeline for compliance is undetermined as of yet.

When the legislation is enacted, companies will be required to disclose:

1. Climate-related risks and impacts:
   • Material risks affecting business strategy, operations, or finances
   • Actual and potential impacts on strategy, business model, and outlook
     
     
2. Risk management and governance:
   • Board oversight and management’s role in assessing climate-related risks
   • Processes for identifying, assessing, and managing these risks
   • Integration of these processes into overall risk management
     
     
3. Mitigation and adaptation efforts:
   • Activities undertaken to address material climate-related risks
   • Use of transition plans, scenario analysis, or internal carbon pricing
   • Material expenditures and financial impacts from these efforts
     
     
4. Climate-related targets and goals:
   • Information on targets/goals materially affecting the business
   • Associated expenditures and impacts on financial estimates
     
     
5. Emissions data (for large accelerated filers and accelerated filers):
   • Material scope 1 and/or scope 2 emissions
   • Assurance report on emissions data
     
     
6. Financial impacts of climate-related events:
   • Costs and losses from severe weather events and natural conditions
   • Expenses related to carbon offsets and renewable energy credits, if material
   • How climate risks and targets have affected financial estimates and assumptions
     
     

All material information should be disclosed in financial statement notes where applicable.

More information can be found in the SEC’s fact sheet about the rules.