Missouri Attorney General joins letter opposing SEC's new proposed rule regarding climate related disclosures

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced today that his office joined a coalition of 24 states opposing The Security and Exchange Commission's Proposed Rule requiring publicly-traded companies to disclose climate related risks of their businesses to investors. Businesses would be required to calculate and disclose emissions levels for their entire supply chains, potentially imposing significant costs on those businesses with very little benefit.

"Instead of fixing the economic disaster that it has caused, the Biden Administration has been relentless in the pursuit of crushing private businesses under the weight of its climate agenda," said Attorney General Schmitt. "Rather than take steps to lower gas prices and curb inflation, the federal government wants to implement new burdensome requirements on companies that serve no purpose except virtue signaling."

According to the letter, companies would be required to disclose, "all greenhouse gas emissions, emissions (from the generation of power consumed by operations), and other material emissions." Companies would also need to disclose three categories of information: impacts, expenditures, and estimates, for investors to use in the decision-making process of their investments. The letter asserts that the federal government should not have the power to influence the success of an American business and the Proposed Rule would do precisely that.

West Virginia led the letter with Arizona, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming joining.