For years, investors have been demanding access to clear, consistent and comparable data from corporations on their climate risks and impacts. Last month, the SEC helped bring U.S. capital markets regulations into the 21st century by finalizing the climate disclosure rule, joining global regulators and standard setters in the pursuit of mandated, standardized corporate climate disclosures.

Unfortunately, the rule is now under attack, and impact investors must raise their voices in support at this critical moment. As the Alliance noted in our recent statement, we believe the SEC’s final rule represents an important baseline to build upon in the future, even with some provisions weakened from the original proposal. The SEC struck a careful balance based on significant consultation with investors, companies and other market stakeholders.

Still, political actors are mobilizing to undo this progress toward greater transparency and accountability. The SEC is facing a suite of lawsuits and challenges by several industry groups, Republican-led states and environmental organizations. In addition to this onslaught of litigation, Republicans in Congress are hosting a hearing today accusing the agency of “threatening American markets.”

And this is just a prelude. Republicans are expected to introduce a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution next week seeking to nullify the rule. Last year, Republicans in Congress used the same tactic in an attempt to block a long-awaited DOL rule clarifying that retirement fiduciaries can consider financially relevant ESG factors. President Biden vetoed that attempt, and we expect the same would occur in this case. That said, it is our hope that Members of Congress will help champion the priorities of investors and stop a CRA challenge from moving forward.

We encourage impact investors to call on their representatives in Congress to oppose unnecessary pushback on this important regulatory progress from the SEC, which provides enhanced transparency for investors. For organizations interested in engaging with relevant policymakers on this issue, please contact the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance.