Prof. Virginia HARPER HO’s research cited in the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Proposal for Corporate Climate Disclosure

Professor Virginia Harper Ho’s research has been referenced in the proposed corporate climate disclosure rules recently released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  The proposed rules are the first to address climate risk disclosure in over a decade.  The public comment submitted by Professor Harper Ho recommended approaches the SEC could take to standardize how reporting companies disclose information to investors about “environmental, social, and governance” (ESG) and climate-related financial risks.  These proposals appear in full in her recent paper in the Illinois Law Review, “Modernizing ESG Disclosure.” 

The paper identifies how the SEC can align the existing federal disclosure rules under Regulation S-K with the reporting guidance of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the international reporting standards that are being developed by the IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board.  It also clarifies the primary rationales for mandatory ESG disclosure within the U.S. context, explains the extent to which these goals are consistent with the SEC’s regulatory authority, and outlines the more ambitious steps that would be needed to support a broader sustainable finance transition.  In addition to the policy impact of her research on future regulation,

Professor Harper Ho continues to engage in these important international policy debates through her service in various working groups of the American Bar Association (ABA) that are also providing input to the SEC on these issues. Professor Harper Ho’s research on this topic has been highlighted by the Oxford Business Law Blog and the Columbia Law School’s blog on corporations and the capital markets.