Sep 24, 2021 - Energy & Climate

Finance regulators becoming involved in climate change

Ben Geman

Illustration of a bill with the world in the middle and CO2 instead of a number — Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Biden-era financial regulators are getting increasingly involved in climate — if not as much as some advocates want — and this week is bringing fresh signs of the trend.

Driving the news: The Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that it's sending letters to corporations seeking more complete disclosures about their climate-related risks.

"[A] person familiar with the matter said they had been sent to firms in industries including agriculture, oil and gas, banking, real estate and trucking," the WSJ reports.

The big picture: The SEC is sending letters to companies about responses to a 2010 guidance on climate disclosures.

It also comes as the commission is preparing to write new, mandatory disclosure regulations.

Driving the news, part 2: The White House is nominating Cornell University law professor Saule Omarova to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a key banking oversight post.

Climate activists cheered the pick, seeing Omarova as someone who will actively push the banking sector on climate risk and cleaner investment.
The group Evergreen Action said Biden has "chosen someone who isn’t afraid to take on Wall Street and has supported bold, federal clean energy investments on climate."

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Finance regulators becoming involved in climate change

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