Opinion

The SEC’s Risky Plan to Decarbonize the U.S. Financial Markets.

Headshot of Professor Paul Tice

By Paul Tice

Reports of the impending death of the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) movement have been greatly exaggerated.

While several sustainability-minded companies and Wall Street firms have recently adopted a lower ESG profile due to the public backlash, this is largely a tactical retreat until the government provides air cover. Financial regulators are now riding to the rescue, passing rules that make the entire climate-focused ESG system compulsory and prescriptive.

In March 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued final climate disclosure rules that require every large U.S. corporation to report in detail all the climate-related physical and transition risks faced by their businesses, along with the size of their carbon footprints.

Read the full Real Clear Energy article.
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Paul Tice is an Adjunct Professor of Finance at NYU Stern.