Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the former Oklahoman who contends she is part Native American but cannot prove it, now wants corporations to make climate change disclosures.
The Democratic Senator has unveiled the Climate risk Disclosure Act which would force corporations to reveal to the public and investors how much they are contributing to climate change and what risks it causes their businesses. Warren said she proposed the act to raise public awareness of how dependent companies are on fossil fuels and how the effects of climate change might harm them.
“Climate change is a real and present danger — and it will have an enormous effect on the value of company assets,” said Warren, seen as a likely presidential candidate in 2020.
“Investors need more information about climate-related risks so they can make the right decisions with their money,” she added. “Our bill will use market forces to speed up the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy — reducing the odds of an environmental and financial disaster without spending a dime of taxpayer money.”
Under her Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission would dictate the exact rules. But her bill also lays out sweeping standards for the disclosures including the greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel holdings by companies.
Will it pass? Not likely since Republicans control the House, the Senate and the White House.
Democratic Sens. Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Ed Markey (Mass), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Kamala Harris (Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) and Jeff Merkley (Ore.) co-sponsored the legislation.
But it nonetheless provides a clear statement of Warren’s policy position on corporate America’s role in climate change ahead of the 2020 campaign season, and potentially how she would seek to steer SEC policy as president, according to The Hill.
The legislation has the support of former Vice President Al Gore and environmental groups including the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Union of Concerned Scientists and Greenpeace USA.
“Our addiction to fossil fuels has led to a ballooning sub-prime carbon bubble that threatens to strand assets in every sector of the American economy. Sen. Warren clearly understands this and is demonstrating strong leadership by introducing legislation to assess the financial risks of climate change and require that they be disclosed to the public,” Gore said in a statement.
Greens and Democrats have in recent years ramped up their efforts to increase corporate accountability for climate change and hold fossil fuel companies and their investors responsible.
Those efforts have largely focused on the courts, including lawsuits against big oil companies. But the cases have had, at best, mixed results in punishing firms.