{"id":369007,"date":"2025-03-07T16:40:03","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T15:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=369007"},"modified":"2025-03-07T16:40:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T15:40:05","slug":"secs-climate-risk-disclosure-rule-would-compel-companies-to-make-scientifically-false-and-misleading-disclosures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=369007","title":{"rendered":"SEC\u2019s Climate Risk Disclosure Rule Would Compel Companies to Make Scientifically False and Misleading Disclosures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From RealClearEnergy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Stone Washington<\/a>\u00a0,\u00a0William Happer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In March last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued its climate risk disclosure rule, called \u201cThe Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It requires companies to report enormously costly and voluminous data on their carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With this rule, the SEC seeks \u201cto achieve the primary benefits of GHG emissions disclosure\u201d for investors, including disclosure of \u201crisks associated\u201d with regulations such as President Biden\u2019s \u201ccommitments to reduce economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions \u2026 to reach net zero<\/a> emissions by 2050.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will flood investors with pages upon pages of information. As to costs, the SEC\u2019s own numbers found that the proposed rule would increase annual compliance costs from $3.8 billion to $10.2 billion, a $6.4 billion rise — more than all the accumulated SEC disclosure rules\u2019 costs from SEC\u2019s initiation in the 1930s to date \u2013 combined. Even though the final rule\u2019s cost<\/a> is less, the numbers indicate the order of magnitude. It may signal what the ultimate cost of future environmental disclosures would be, in addition to the ensuing fossil fuel divestment<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SEC assumes, like many, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change claim the \u201cevidence is clear that carbon dioxide (CO2<\/sub>) is the main driver of climate change,\u201d including, the SEC asserts, \u201chigher temperatures, sea level rise, and drought\u201d, as well as \u201churricanes, floods, tornadoes, and wildfires.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the little-known accurate science is totally contrary to the SEC\u2019s and IPCC\u2019s premise. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Co-author William Happer, an emeritus physics professor at Princeton, explains\u00a0below how carbon dioxide and other GHGs do not cause any increased climate related risks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SEC\u2019s and IPCC\u2019s claim is scientifically false.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, the SEC rule would compel companies to disclose scientifically false and misleading information about carbon dioxide and other GHG\u2019s role in climate-related risks to investors. Accordingly, the SEC rule must be rescinded by the Trump Administration or ruled invalid by the courts, whichever is sooner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Co-author Happer explains the accurate science in detail in a 28 page\u00a0comment<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0the proposed SEC rule with Richard Lindzen, an emeritus physics professor at MIT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comment explains why there are no added climate related risks caused by carbon dioxide.<\/em><\/strong> (The other greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide are too small to have any significant effect on the environment).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SEC totally ignored and did not respond to the comment. Three of the many scientific reasons elaborated in the comment are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First<\/em>, Carbon Dioxide Now and at Higher Levels is a Weak Greenhouse Gas, So Reducing It to Net Zero Will Have a Negligible Effect on Temperatures<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carbon dioxide has two relevant properties, as a GHG and as a creator of food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a GHG, carbon dioxide\u2019s ability to raise Earth\u2019s temperature decreases rapidly as the atmospheric concentration increase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The science is complex, but the scientific conclusion is simple. At today\u2019s level of about 400 parts per million (ppm) and higher, large increases of carbon dioxide will cause negligible warming of the Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The well-established theory of atmospheric heat transfer allows computing what happens when carbon dioxide\u2019s concentration in the atmosphere increases, for example, doubling from today\u2019s approximately 400 ppm to 800 ppm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As to temperature, the result would be only a minuscule effect on temperature because carbon dioxide is now, and at higher levels, a weak greenhouse gas.<\/s> Lindzen and Happer state:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom now on \u2026 we could emit as much CO2<\/sub>\u00a0as we like, with little warming effect.\u201d This also means that \u201cour emissions from burning fossil fuels could have little impact on global warming. There is no climate emergency. No threat at all.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As to food, carbon dioxide creates more food when its level in the atmosphere increases. Doubling carbon dioxide from 400 ppm to 800 ppm would increase the amount of food available to people worldwide by roughly 40%, with a negligible effect on temperature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, never mentioned, is that reducing carbon dioxide to Net Zero will reduce the amount of food available worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second. <\/em>The EPA\u2019s MAGICC Model Confirms Carbon Dioxide Now and at Higher Levels is a Weak Greenhouse Gas, So Reducing It to Net Zero Will Have a Negligible Effect on Temperatures<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Environmental Protection Agency often uses a model for predicting temperature effects called the Model for Assessment of Greenhouse Gas-Induced Climate Change (MAGICC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our comment explains the MAGICC model confirms our conclusion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReducing the current 40 Gigaton CO2<\/sub> annual emissions worldwide and the 6 Gigaton annual U.S. CO2<\/sub> emissions to \u2018net zero\u2019 would cause only tiny changes of \u2026 Earth\u2019s surface temperature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third<\/em>. 600 Million Years of Carbon Dioxide Data Also Confirms Carbon Dioxide Now and at Higher Levels is a Weak Greenhouse Gas, So Reducing It to Net Zero Will Have a Negligible Effect on Temperatures<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our comment presents 600 million years of data on temperature and carbon dioxide levels that shows an inverse relationship most of the time. \u201cFor hundreds of millions of years, temperatures were low when CO2<\/sub> levels were high, and temperatures were high when CO2<\/sub> levels were low.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen CO2<\/sub> was record high of about 7,000 ppm, temperatures were at a record low.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus 600 million years of data also confirms carbon dioxide is now a weak greenhouse gas that cannot and does not drive climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, our comment details why the rule if adopted would help cause disastrous consequences for the poor, people worldwide, and future generations of Americans because it would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the use of fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, science contradicts the SEC and IPCC\u2019s premise that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases introduce climate-related risks. Such assumptions are scientifically false. Thus requiring companies to report their GHG data to investors interested in climate change would require them to report false and misleading information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accordingly, the new<\/a> SEC leadership should immediately rescind its climate-related risks disclosure rule, or the courts should rule it invalid, whichever is sooner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, there are, of course, nature caused climate-related risks. For nature, the SEC explained, \u201cit has required disclosure of certain environmental matters for the past 50 years,\u201d including \u201cdisclosure of climate-related risks and their impacts on a registrant’s business or financial condition.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, the SEC has already taken care of them. Nothing else need be done.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stone Washington is a research fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

William Happer is Professor of Physics, Emeritus at Princeton University.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In March last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued its climate risk disclosure rule, called \u201cThe Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":369012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691829997,691818056,691821464,691826390],"class_list":{"0":"post-369007","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-carbon-dioxide-co","9":"tag-climate-change","10":"tag-environmental-protection-agency-epa","11":"tag-securities-and-exchange-commission-sec","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Securities-and-Exchange-Commission-SEC.webp?fit=1200%2C719&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1xZJ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":240070,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=240070","url_meta":{"origin":369007,"position":0},"title":"\u201cESG Check in\u201d: More details on the Securities & Exchange Commission\u2019s Activist Role in the \u201cWhole of Government\u201d Push on ESG, \u201cClimate Risk Disclosure\u201d","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"16\/01\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The indispensable transparency-in-government group Energy Policy Advocates has provided GAO a review of record productions from FOIA litigation with the Securities & Exchange Commission, including specifically from calendars of Chairman Gary Gensler and then-Commissioner Allison Herren Lee.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-745.png?fit=1200%2C755&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-745.png?fit=1200%2C755&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-745.png?fit=1200%2C755&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-745.png?fit=1200%2C755&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-745.png?fit=1200%2C755&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":219494,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=219494","url_meta":{"origin":369007,"position":1},"title":"SEC Not Climate Change Enforcer","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"18\/09\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"It should junk its proposed disclosure rule, which is clearly unconstitutional as per West Virginia v. 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