SEC approves climate disclosure rule without Scope 3 - Tri-State Livestock News

SEC approves climate disclosure rule without Scope 3 | TSLN.com

SEC approves climate disclosure rule without Scope 3

The Securities and Exchange Commission today approved a rule to require climate-related disclosures for investors.The regulation did not include required reporting of Scope 3 emissions, which would have required companies to report the emissions from producers of raw products that go into their supply chains, including farmers.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall, who led a campaign against the inclusion of Scope 3 emissions, today thanked SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and his staff “for their diligence in researching the unintended consequences of an overreaching Scope 3 requirement.”Duvall added, “Farmers are committed to protecting the natural resources they’ve been entrusted with, and they continue to advance climate-smart agriculture, but they cannot afford to hire compliance officers just to handle SEC reporting requirements. This is especially true for small farms that would have likely been squeezed out of the supply chain.”Duvall noted that Farm Bureau members had sent more than 20,000 messages to the SEC and to Capitol Hill about Scope 3. At the Farm Bureau convention in January, Duvall said that Gensler had asked him why he had received so many messages from farmers about Scope 3.Duvall also said, “Now that the SEC has thoughtfully evaluated the issue, AFBF urges California to follow the SEC’s lead by withdrawing its Scope 3 reporting requirement for any company doing business in the state. Farm Bureau, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others, recently challenged that state law and its national ramifications.”Some companies have said that even though the U.S. government is not requiring Scope 3 emissions reporting, they will still require it from producers because investors, consumers and other governments are demanding it.

International Dairy Foods Association President and CEO Michael Dykes said, “IDFA is pleased that the SEC responded to our comments and listened to our industry by removing Scope 3 emissions from its final climate disclosure rules. The SEC proposal threatened to place significant financial burdens on millions of companies and businesses that fall outside of the SEC’s regulatory jurisdiction. The proposed rules demonstrated a lack of engagement with the dairy value chain and a lack of analysis of the economic and market effects on privately held and small entities directly impacted by the rule. Since introducing the rule, the SEC has learned U.S. dairy has committed significant resources to achieve ambitious environmental stewardship goals, including GHG neutrality, optimized water use, and improved water quality by 2050, resulting in a glass of milk with the smallest carbon-intensity footprint in the world.”

“This limited SEC rule is a win for America’s farmers and ranchers,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Mark Eisele, a Wyoming rancher. “Since this proposal first arose in 2022, NCBA has worked to educate policymakers on the harmful unintended consequences caused by overreaching Scope 3 regulations. The final SEC rule that omits supply chain emissions reporting entirely is a testament to NCBA’s engagement with federal agencies and Congress to defend America’s cattle producers.”

–The Hagstrom Report