SEC to push companies to disclose more about climate risks

The Securities and Exchange Commission is planning to push companies to disclose more info about risks that climate change poses to their business — and signaled that tougher policies could be in the offing.

Driving the news: Allison Herren Lee, the regulator's acting chair, said Wednesday that the SEC would bolster its focus on how companies are responding to its 2010 guidance on the topic.

• She said it's important to provide investors with "access to material information when planning for their financial future."

The big picture: It's the latest sign of increased climate focus from the SEC and other financial agencies, including the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve.

• Earlier this month the SEC said attorney Satyam Khanna would serve in the newly created role of senior policy adviser for climate and ESG.

What we're watching: The SEC's potential move toward creating formal, mandatory disclosure rules on climate specifically, as opposed to just looser guidance.

• Lee said ensuring compliance with the existing guidance is an immediate step "on the path to developing a more comprehensive framework that produces consistent, comparable, and reliable climate-related disclosures."