Dear Chair Gensler and Commissioners,
We, the undersigned 79 organizations, recognize your commitment to addressing the critical issue of the financial risks from climate change and its profound implications for our collective future. Your awareness of the stakes involved positions you uniquely to effect meaningful change during your tenure.
However, we must express our disappointment in recent reported outcomes, while still holding onto the belief that there is time for you to impact our climate trajectory significantly.
We have 3 asks of you:
- Require companies to disclose Scope 3 emissions.
- Do not subject Scopes 1 and 2 to a materiality assessment.
- Require disclosures quantify the financial impacts of both physical risks and transition risks and expenditures to address physical risks and transition risks.
Boldly defining the terms of a debate with a strong rule commensurate with the scale of the climate crisis would be a testament to your efforts to champion what is just and necessary, and within your authorities. Conversely, preemptively limiting the scope of your regulatory actions would relegate you and other Commissioners to the ranks of those who have forsaken their duty to safeguard investors and future financial stability.
It is imperative that the financial risks climate change poses to businesses—and the consequential effects on financial reporting—are transparently communicated. Legislative measures such as the Inflation Reduction Act, along with precarious decisions to temporarily halt permitting for LNG facilities, serve to diminish the viability of fossil fuel enterprises. This, in turn, strengthens the position of renewable energy sources, potentially impacting the future returns of projects and the investments of pension holders. The latter deserve clear insight into how their investments are affected by these shifts.
Furthermore, accurate climate reporting and strategic transition planning should be integral to financial disclosures. The younger generation merits transparency regarding corporate efforts to mitigate climate change versus claims of intent that lack substance. Understanding the emissions resulting from the consumption of fossil fuel products is crucial for reducing our carbon footprint. The American public deserves full disclosure of the financial damage inflicted by these corporations on our climate and the long-term consequences for our nation.
As we navigate towards an inevitable transition, fueled by increasing occurrences of extreme weather and its impact on economic stability, the need for leadership that embodies courage rather than caution has never been more apparent.
The potential challenges that may flow from bold action are not lost on us. However, history tends to favor those who act decisively in the face of adversity. Your leadership could pave the way for financial stability and, perhaps, define your legacy.
Sincerely,
ActionAid USA
Alabama Interfaith Power & Light
Alliance for Just Money
Beloved Community Ministries
Carbon Collective Investing
Center for International Environmental Law
Climate Action Now
Climate First!, Inc.
Climate Hawks Vote
Climate Organizing Hub
Coast Range Association
Coastside Jewish Community
Connecticut Citizen Action Group
Consumer Watchdog
Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action
Divest Oregon
Earth Ethics, Inc.
Earth Guardians
Elders Climate Action
Extinction Rebellion Phoenix
Flat Shoals Community Youth Club, Inc.
Fossil Free California
FreshWater Accountability Project
Global Witness
GreenFaith
Greenpeace Hawaii
Greenpeace USA
Habitat Recovery Project
Indigenous Environmental Network
Kellyceramicsla
La Cañada Flintridge Country Club
Lakota People’s Law Project
Maine Youth Action
MARBE SA, Costa Rica
Mazaska Talks
Mid-Missouri Peaceworks
My Sea to Sky
New Mexico Climate Justice
New York Communities for Change
Oil and Gas Action Network
Peoples Climate Movement – NY
Public Citizen
Rainforest Action Network
RapidShift
Regenerating Paradise
Revolving Door Project
Rise Economy (formerly California Reinvestment Coalition)
Rivers & Mountains GreenFaith
Seeding Sovereignty
Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health
Silver Lake Couch Collective
Sixth Street Community Center
SLCC
Studio Everberg
The Climate Reality Project Chicago Metro Chapter
The People’s Justice Council
The Peoples Hub
The YEARS Project
Third Act
Third Act Upstate New York
Third Act Virginia
THIS! Is What We Did
Vessel Project of Louisiana
Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network
Youth Emergency Auxiliary Service Sierra Leone
Zero Hour
350 Conejo / San Fernando Valley
350 New Hampshire
350 SW Idaho
350 Wenatchee
350.org
350Hawaii
350NYC
7 Directions of Service