Sep. 15, 2022
Dear Chair Gensler, I am writing to thank you for taking steps to make it easier for investors like me to understand climate risk. As an investor, I am looking to maximize my returns, Before I invest, I need to know whether or not a company is preparing to operate successfully in a low-carbon world. More and more economies are adopting policies and taking steps to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement. I don’t want to invest in a company that is not working to reduce their greenhouse emissions. Without information on their climate policies and activities, I won't be able to tell what companies could be profitable in a clean energy economy and which companies could end up being a bad investment. This summer you proposed a rule to require publicly traded companies to disclose "material" emissions. Many investors asked you to make this a requirement for all large public companies. I hope that you will listen to our voices, not just big corporations who want to hide their risks. I and the general public want to know how much damage the big polluters are doing, and what—if any—plans they have to take steps to lower their impact on our climate. As you finalize these rules, I wanted to thank you for doing what is necessary and best to ensure that investors like me have the information we need to make smart investing decisions for our green energy future. I hope to seeing strong greenhouse gas disclosures, statements on emissions, and other requirements for disclosure and accountability in your final ruling later this year. Thank you. Peter Lourekas