The rules aim to standardize climate-related company disclosures about greenhouse gas emissions, weather-related risks and how companies are preparing for the transition to a low-carbon economy
Ten Republican-led states in US have sued to challenge new federal rules that require U.S.-listed companies to report climate-related risks, a spokesperson for the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday, hours after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the rules.
The states, which include Alabama, Alaska and Georgia, filed the petition at the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to the spokesperson.
The rules aim to standardize climate-related company disclosures about greenhouse gas emissions, weather-related risks and how companies are preparing for the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The Sierra Club, meanwhile, said it was considering suing the SEC because it believes the new rules do not go far enough.
The SEC said the information would give investors reliable information about financial risks companies face related to climate change.
An SEC spokesperson said in a statement that the agency crafts rules that are consistent with its legal authority, and that it will “vigorously defend the climate disclosure rules in court.
First proposed in 2022, the rules are part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to leverage federal agency rulemaking to address climate change threats. Similar disclosure requirements have been adopted in California and Europe.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey on Wednesday said during a press conference that the Biden administration is trying to act as a “puppeteer” using public companies to drive forward its climate agenda.
Republican-led states had been signaling their intent to challenge the rules for years, arguing in public comments in 2022 that they amount to back-door environmental regulations that go beyond the SEC’s legal authority.
They claimed then the rules would require companies to create, gather and disclose a “crushing” amount of material that goes well beyond the finance-based disclosures that investors need.