Observers of the US Supreme Court say new rules could be promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this year, mandating environmental disclosures.

If the proposed rules move into law, shipping companies with shares transacted on US exchanges, along with all other listed companies, would need to provide extensive information on their emissions.

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More broadly, the myriad of listed companies moving cargo would need to put numbers on emissions tied to production and transporting materials used in their processes; shipping companies would therefore need to be providing more information to their charterers.

Legal analysts and legislators are divided on whether environmental disclosures are within the SEC’s authority- regulating financial matters. One Republican Senator, Pat Toomey (Republican-Pennsylvania) was quoted as saying that the agency “is attempting to impose this whole climate change disclosure regime … with no authority from Congress to do that.”

Source: https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/finance-insurance/us-listed-shipping-firms-could-be-required-disclose-emissions