Climate, Clarity, Controversy: A Constitutional, Statutory, and Policy Analysis of the SEC’s Proposed Climate Disclosure Rules

Authors

Astoneia O. Moss

Abstract

The burgeoning ESG movement has heightened investors’ interest in how companies steward the environment in which they operate; manage their human capital; and implement strategies to effectively manage and fulfill the desires of stakeholders. As a result, the SEC has sought to implement a mandatory climate-related disclosure regime to provide investors with public companies’ climate-related data to assist in the investment decision-making process. The proposed climate-related disclosure rule has faced criticism from businesses, politicians, and legal scholars on constitutional, statutory, and policy grounds. This Comment concludes that based on the statutory language of the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the SEC has both the constitutional and statutory authority to establish and promulgate climate-related disclosures. The implementation and enforcement of the climate-related disclosure rule not only ensures that investors' demands are satisfied, but also directly aligns with the SEC's mission of “protecting investors, maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation.”

Recommended Citation

Astoneia O. Moss, Climate, Clarity, Controversy: A Constitutional, Statutory, and Policy Analysis of the SEC’s Proposed Climate Disclosure Rules, 11 Emory Corp. Governance & Accountability Rev. 47 (2024).
Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/ecgar/vol11/iss1/2