SPOTLIGHT

Expect a load of Republican disinformation about the proposed SEC climate disclosure rule today as Chair Gary Gensler testifies before the House Financial Services Committee. Elizabeth Warren and 24 other Democrats applied pressure on the SEC prior to the hearing to push out a strong reporting rule, equipped with Scope 3 emissions requirements. Gensler has already indicated that California’s promised disclosure legislation will ‘change some of the economic baselines’ because many of the publicly-traded companies registered with the SEC will be subject to the state’s requirements, lowering compliance costs. 

NEWS

• Alameda Post: California Legislature Whiffs on Insurance Crisis, Punting to Newsom and Lara 
• The Atlantic: Where the New Identity Politics Went Wrong 
• Axios: Extreme weather could cause insurance rates across the country to spike 
• Bloomberg: Vivek Ramaswamy’s Presidential Campaign Is All About Trump | With ESG Under Siege, Neuberger Backs Active Stock-Picking | Hurricane-Proofing Buildings Isn’t Enough to Curb Florida’s Storm Losses
• Bloomberg Law: ESG Collaborations Face Challenges Without Safe Harbor Guidance 
• The Bond Buyer: Federal judge upholds Biden ESG rule
• CFO Dive: 75% of companies unprepared for coming ESG audits
• The Chronicle: Duke students, faculty discuss fossil fuel divestment in seminar on institutional responsibilities
• Citywire: Political flip-flopping sees asset managers and investors scale back ESG 
• Financial Times: ESG ETFs fail to shine over past 10 years | Fossil fuel demand must fall by a quarter by 2030 to limit global warming, IEA says
• National Law Review: California Passes Two Climate Disclosure Laws That Will Require Unique, Public Reporting of Carbon Emissions and Climate Risk 
• The Orange County Register: Southern California tops wildfire risk rankings as insurance gets harder to find
• Pensions & Investments: Broward Health to keep anti-tobacco investment due to good returns | Fund managers turn to lawyers as old ESG playbook falls flat
• Politico: ‘The SEC needs to do its job’: Warren presses Gensler on climate risk | California’s gift to Gensler’s SEC | California is doing the feds’ work for them 
• Reuters: The litigation risks that companies face in an age of ESG | IEA says route to net zero requires more cash and less politics
• Sustainable Brands: New Report Urges Insurance Companies to Stop Underwriting Climate Change
• Time: The Conservative Plan to Build a Parallel Economy
• Wisconsin Examiner: Despite political backlash, socially responsible investing is still popular, advisor says

OPINION

• Business Chief: Why companies should be preparing for scope 3 reporting 
• Forbes: The SEC’s New Rule May Inadvertently Kill ESG Funds 
• MarketWatch: Climate change meets political change: Key 2024 election issues for investors
• The New York Times: If Hurricane Rebuilding Is Only Affordable for the Wealthy, This Is the Florida You Get 
• openDemocracy: US home insurers are leaving climate risk areas. We need affordable housing now 

OPPOSITION

• Newsmax: ESG Proponents Falsely Claim to Be Capitalists 
• New York Post: NY businesses launch $1M push to roll back climate-change laws that left city ‘at a crossroads’ 

SOCIAL

• Elizabeth Warren shared an article: Climate change poses serious threats to our planet and financial system that @USTreasury can and must address. I’m urging Treasury to use all tools at their disposal to tackle the economic and environmental crises caused by climate change.
• Chip Roy quoted a tweet: Nope. “Big Oil” is full of foreign owned, ESG-pushing activist corporations, who love moderate Democrats and lobby for Carbon Taxes, throttle competition, and increase energy costs – no thanks. #EnergyFreedom

DATES 

• September 27: Financial Services Committee Hearing: Oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Watch here at 10 am. 
• September 28: Federal Reserve Town Hall with Educators. Deadline to sign on to a letter calling on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to address climate financial risks and how they impact students and teachers is September 27th. 
• October 2: NY Fed 2023 Environmental Economics and Policy Conference: Measuring and Adapting to Climate Risk. 
• October 3: FHFA Fall Economic Summit in DC at the Constitution Center. 
• October 17: Orbitas The High Cost of Ignoring Scope 3 Deforestation Emissions Webinar. Register here.