(Hartford, CT) -- Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of attorneys general in support of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) proposal to require U.S. companies to provide accurate information about the financial risk they face from climate change.
“Climate change is not only a public health and environmental crisis —it is also a looming financial and economic crisis. Extreme weather events have cost companies hundreds of billions of dollars in the past five years alone, and the financial harms and instability will only increase. This SEC proposal will provide crucial transparency necessary to shield our retirement savings and investments,” said Attorney General Tong.
Extreme weather events caused or exacerbated by climate change, such as hurricanes, wildfires, extreme heat, and extreme drought, have cost U.S. companies more than $760 billion in the past five years alone. As these events increase in intensity and frequency, their impacts on companies will only grow. Already, the average cost per year of climate disasters has increased from an average cost of $19.5 billion per year in the 1980s to $89.2 billion per year in the 2010s. In 2021, the cost to the U.S. economy rose to $148 billion. This does not include indirect costs from climate change, such as short-term and long-term healthcare costs resulting from wildfire smoke inhalation.
Mandatory climate change-related disclosures are essential to guard U.S. and global financial...
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