More companies should disclose climate-related opportunities, according to Drew Hambly, investment director at the California Public Employees' Retirement System, Sacramento.
“We certainly have gotten a lot of risk disclosure over the last 10 years … that’s a lot of the stick, where’s the carrot?” Hambly said at the Council of Institutional Investors’ Spring Conference in Washington on March 11.
Under former Chair Gary Gensler, the SEC issued a rule mandating public companies disclose an array of information on climate-related risks in their registration statements and periodic reports. After its finalization in March 2024, the rule faced nine lawsuits, which the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis agreed to hear on a consolidated basis. In April, the agency voluntarily halted the rule’s implementation pending the court’s ruling.
Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda announced Feb. 11 that he asked agency staff to request the court’s oral arguments be delayed, allowing more time for the commission to “deliberate and determine the appropriate next steps,” according to a public statement.
In California, where the $533.4 billion CalPERS is based, the state has passed a series of laws requiring large companies to disclose climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions.
However, “I don’t think enough companies are talking about their opportunities,” Hambly said, giving the example of green revenues — generally defined as revenue derived from sustainable activities and products.
“One of the things we're trying to push companies on is, if you have good stories to tell, if you have opportunities, we need to hear more about those,” Hambly added.
In February, CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost said at a board meeting that she was supportive of the SEC’s climate-disclosure rule, and she and her staff plan to go to Washington to defend it.
