On March 21, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued for public comment a rule proposal that, if adopted, would require reporting companies to provide certain climate-related information in their registration statements and annual reports filed with the SEC. Specifically, the proposed rules would require:
- A new section in annual reports and registration statements titled “Climate-Related Disclosure,” which would include climate-related governance, risk, business impacts, targets and goals and other related disclosures.
- Within that section, disclosure of the registrant’s Scope 1, Scope 2 and, if material, Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, together with an attestation report from an independent GHG emissions expert covering the Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions disclosures.
- A new note to a registrant’s audited financial statements that provides climate-related metrics and impacts on a line-item basis.
This memorandum addresses the first point above—the proposed amendments to Regulation S-K (excluding the GHG emissions disclosure and attestation report)—and concludes with some general takeaways and possible issues for inclusion in comment letters on the proposal. Please see the other two memoranda in this series for a discussion of the GHG emissions and attestation report disclosure requirements and the Regulation S-X financial statements note disclosure requirements described above.