"From Coca-Cola to Tesla, companies report emissions in widely different ways. A new federal rule is expected to standardize climate disclosures, putting the U.S. on closer footing with other countries."

"The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to require all publicly traded companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and the climate risks their businesses face, part of the Biden administration’s broader push to force the private sector to reckon with the dangers of a warming world.

Under a groundbreaking new rule the SEC is expected to propose Monday, hundreds of businesses would be required to measure and disclose greenhouse gas emissions in a standardized way for the first time, according to two people briefed on the agency’s discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations. The move could mark the most sweeping overhaul of corporate disclosure rules in more than a decade, and could put the United States on closer footing with other countries set to begin mandated emissions reporting over the next three years.

The new rule could transform the SEC into one of the country’s leading enforcers of climate-related disclosures, a role in which some critics say the Wall Street regulator lacks expertise and authority."

Douglas MacMillan and Maxine Joselow report for the Washington Post March 15, 2022. [2]