Arizona and West Virginia are co-leading a coalition of 24 states in filing formal comments regarding a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission initiative that would require companies to make policy statements not related to financial performance.
Under this SEC proposed rule, public companies would have to produce disclosures concerning greenhouse gases and climate change.
Arizona and West Virginia are joined in the letter by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.
The proposal would require companies to disclose greenhouse gas emissions they directly or indirectly produce and explain how climate risk affects their businesses. The companies would have to report on their climate risks, as well as risks related to the physical impact of storms, drought, and higher temperatures.
Many companies already provide climate-risk information voluntarily. New mandatory requirements would impose substantial costs on companies with little real benefit.
The states will argue that responding to a supposed public demand for information about public companies’ climate measures is not a sufficient government interest to compel speech and is a violation of the First Amendment.
Arizona and West Virginia are joined in the letter by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.