Statement by William Sisson, Executive Director-North America World Business Council for Sustainable Development

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposal to require climate disclosure for publicly traded companies is long overdue and extremely welcomed.

We are particularly pleased the SEC recognized that its proposed rule would require companies to disclose their impact on climate risks for both their direct operations and supply chain.

The proposal is aligned with recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the leading global framework supported by more than 3,000 companies and 90 jurisdictions around the world.

The SEC's action finally puts the U.S. on a path to collect a set of consistent and assured ESG data from all companies, something for which our members have been asking, and what investors say they need to make informed investment decisions. It also has broad public support.

Indeed, a recent poll found that 87 percent of Americans are in favor of companies reporting their climate-related risks. We commend the SEC for taking this action in addressing this growing financial risk and intend to submit formal comments to the agency in support of this proposed rulemaking.