{"id":2500,"date":"2014-02-18T17:20:32","date_gmt":"2014-02-18T22:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.columbia.edu\/climatechange\/?p=2500"},"modified":"2014-02-18T17:20:32","modified_gmt":"2014-02-18T22:20:32","slug":"new-york-attorney-general-can-advance-and-improve-climate-disclosures-under-federal-state-securities-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.law.columbia.edu\/climatechange\/2014\/02\/18\/new-york-attorney-general-can-advance-and-improve-climate-disclosures-under-federal-state-securities-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Attorney General Can Advance and Improve Climate Disclosures Under Federal, State Securities Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

by Nina Hart, Columbia Law Student\"Wall<\/a><\/p>\n

In recent years, a major challenge facing companies and securities regulators has been when and how to disclose material risks related to climate change in federal securities filings.\u00a0 In 2010, in response to a petition, the SEC issued an interpretive release on disclosure of climate change risks to assist companies in assessing when such disclosures must be made.[1]<\/a> \u00a0A new working paper<\/a> by Columbia Law Student Nina Hart, released by the Center for Climate Change Law (CCCL), focuses on the SEC\u2019s release and assesses whether further federal guidance is needed, and how such guidance might be obtained.\u00a0 Additionally, the paper addresses how companies might be held accountable in the absence of federal action.\u00a0 Specifically, the paper argues that the New York Attorney General should use the Martin Act to investigate companies for nondisclosure and thereby help establish a disclosure framework that companies can use absent further federal guidance.<\/p>\n

The working paper reviews SEC actions to date on the issue of climate change disclosure as well as other studies on disclosure rates to assess whether further guidance is warranted.\u00a0 Based on this review, the paper concludes that, both before and after the 2010 interpretive release, disclosure rates and quality amongst companies have been inconsistent.\u00a0 Additionally, although the SEC indicated in its 2010 interpretive release that it would take further actions to monitor disclosure practices and assess whether further guidance is necessary,[2]<\/a> the paper argues that the agency has largely failed to do so.<\/p>\n

Building on this perceived need for federal guidance and lack of federal attention to the issue, the paper reviews the events leading to the 2010 interpretive release, which was the only climate change-specific document released by the SEC in recent years.\u00a0 Specifically, the paper focuses on the steps taken by the New York Attorney General\u2019s Office to obtain the interpretive release.\u00a0 In 2007, General Andrew Cuomo, with a number of other institutional investors, filed a petition with the SEC that requested guidance related to disclosure of climate change risks.[3]<\/a>\u00a0 At the same time, his Office opened five investigations into nondisclosure using the authority granted by the Martin Act, New York\u2019s securities law.[4]<\/a>\u00a0 This paper argues that the combination of the petition and investigations pressured the SEC to issue its 2010 interpretive release. \u00a0Additionally, the paper asserts that using the Martin Act to investigate companies can help eliminate the regulatory gap left by SEC underenforcement.\u00a0 The paper then concludes that General Schneiderman\u2019s Office should resume General Cuomo\u2019s efforts to hold companies accountable and also seek further federal guidance.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

[1]<\/a> Sec. & Exch. Comm\u2019n, Commission Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change<\/i> (Feb. 8, 2010), \u00a0https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/rules\/interp\/2010\/33-9106.pdf\u200e.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[2]<\/a> Id<\/i>. at 27\u201328.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[3]<\/a> Request for Interpretive Guidance on Climate Risk Disclosure<\/i>, File No. 4-547, Sept. 18, 2007, available at<\/i> https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/rules\/petitions.shtml<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[4]<\/a> Press release, Energy Company Subpoenas<\/i>, New York Attorney General (Sept. 17, 2007), https:\/\/www.ag.ny.gov\/press-release\/energy-companies-subpoenas<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Nina Hart, Columbia Law Student In recent years, a major challenge facing companies and securities regulators has been when and how to disclose material risks related to climate change in federal securities filings.\u00a0 In 2010, in response to a petition, the SEC issued an interpretive release on disclosure of climate change risks to assist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":768,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2500","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"czr-hentry"},"yoast_head":"\nNew York Attorney General Can Advance and Improve Climate Disclosures Under Federal, State Securities Laws - Climate Law Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.law.columbia.edu\/climatechange\/2014\/02\/18\/new-york-attorney-general-can-advance-and-improve-climate-disclosures-under-federal-state-securities-laws\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New York Attorney General Can Advance and Improve Climate Disclosures Under Federal, State Securities Laws - 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