Great Lakes Wire

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a multistate coalition of 19 attorneys general to defend the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Final Rule on climate-related disclosures for investors. The SEC's Final Rule aims to provide investors with standardized, material information about climate-related risks, enabling them to make informed investment decisions.

"There is no doubt that the steps a company takes to address its climate-related risks has a direct impact on its financial health," said Nessel. "Providing investors with this information is crucial. It is well within the SEC’s regulatory authority to require these types of disclosures, and I am proud to join my colleagues in defending this Final Rule."

The SEC's Final Rule, issued after considering over 24,000 comment letters, mandates publicly registered companies to disclose climate-related risks that have materially impacted the company or are likely to do so in the future. Companies are also required to provide information on processes or strategies used to mitigate or evaluate these risks, as well as the board of directors' oversight of climate-related risks. Additionally, certain companies must disclose material direct and indirect greenhouse-gas emissions from purchased or acquired electricity, steam, heat, or cooling.

In June 2022, AG Nessel supported the SEC’s proposed climate-related disclosures rule in a letter along with other attorneys general. The multistate coalition, led by the attorneys general of Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, includes AG Nessel and representatives from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The coalition's motion to intervene as respondents can be accessed for further details.