Oct. 17, 2018
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should require corporate managers to be honest with their shareholders about how they are planning for the long term. Shareholders have a right to know if oil executives are trying to buy off politicians to slow progress on addressing climate change. They also have a right to know whether the company is cultivating diversity on its board or moving profits abroad to avoid paying taxes in the U.S. These are just a few examples of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks that the SEC should require public companies to disclose to their shareholders and the public. I am currently in my mid 20s, and I have many friends around that age. I have cousins who are in elementary school, and several of my friends have kids of their own. We will undoubtedly live to see the calamitous, irreversible impacts of climate change — rising temperatures and sea levels, the agricultural and economic destruction they will cause, and the societal breakdowns that will inevitably follow — should they go unmitigated. I do not want myself, my friends, my family, or anyone else to suffer. We cannot ignore what the vast majority of scientists have been warning us about for years any longer. Thank you for considering my comment. Kevin Chiu