The CAQ is pleased to share our thoughts and comments on the SEC’s proposed rule, The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.

Public company auditors have long played a role in providing reliable information for decision-making for investors and other capital market stakeholders. Increasingly, that includes company-prepared climate and other ESG-related Information.

The CAQ is supportive of the SEC’s efforts to propose a rule that could provide both companies and investors clarity around ESG information that investors are increasingly asking for and that companies are already providing to some degree. In this comment letter, the CAQ:

• Supports the proposed rule requiring certain registrants to subject certain greenhouse gas emissions disclosures to assurance as this enhances the reliability of that information. There is an opportunity for the SEC to promote consistent, comparable, high-quality attestation over GHG emissions by further enhancing some of the attestation requirements in the proposed rule.
• Continues to support a globally accepted ESG reporting system developed from existing standards and frameworks, and that can be built upon to meet the needs of investors in different jurisdictions.
• Supports a phased-in approach to the proposed rule’s requirements. However, we recommend an alternative phased-in approach by both disclosure area and registrant type that would provide registrants with more time to prepare for those disclosure areas we think will take more time to adequately prepare for.
• Identifies challenges and recommendations around the organizational boundaries for GHG emissions disclosures, the lack of a specified framework for the GHG emissions methodology, and regulation S-X proposed amendments

Read the full comment letter here.

Download comment letter

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