Public companies face rising pressure to disclose climate-change risks.
Sey-Hyo Lee is a partner in the corporate and climate change practices at Chadbourne & Parke LLP and Marushka Bland is an associate at the firm. They are reachable at 212-408-5100.
Scientists, governments, businesses and the public have begun to accept that global warming and other climate changes have ceased to be mere theoretical possibilities and may pose significant risks to the environment and the economy. Regulation of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions and other efforts to control these growing environmental concerns increasingly are impacting businesses, and investors are seeking more and better information on climate-change risks to make informed investment decisions. Facing the realities of proposed legislation, litigation and shareholder action demanding greater corporate transparency regarding GHG and the impact of global climate change, public companies are struggling to determine whether and how they should disclose the potential risks that climate change poses to their businesses, financial conditions and operating results.