- A coalition of 19 Democratic AGs, led by Massachusetts AG Andrea Joy Campbell and New York AG Leticia James, has moved to intervene in defense of the SEC’s climate disclosure rules (Final Rule) in a lawsuit filed by 25 Republican AGs in the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
- The Final Rule—which the SEC has stayed pending resolution of the lawsuit—requires publicly traded companies to disclose climate-related risks and their mitigation strategies in SEC filings. These filings must also disclose material greenhouse gas emissions and outline their climate-related targets and goals.
- In the motion to intervene, the Democratic AGs claim the Final Rule provides investors with critical comprehensive information for evaluating climate-related financial risks in their investment decisions. Because states are institutional investors managing public pension funds, the AGs highlight that the Final Rule benefits states specifically by enabling access to such data without incurring public expenditure. Furthermore, the AGs assert that the Final Rule protects the economic interests of state residents, many of whom depend on investment savings for retirement or education, and thereby bolsters the states’ economies by promoting growth. Given these interests, the AGs maintain they meet the legal criteria to intervene in the lawsuit, urging the court to allow their participation.
- As previously reported, Iowa AG Brenna Bird leads the coalition of Republican AGs in challenging the Final Rule, asserting that it is arbitrary, capricious, and beyond the SEC’s legal authority.