The Environmental Forum

OPENING ARGUMENT The administration’s deregulatory actions ignore our society’s shared vision, for half a century, that there should be constant environmental improvement. The Trump EPA instead is turning on its head the legal, political, and practical history of the Clean Air Act.

CROSS-EXAMINATION It’s time to seize the moment to codify the rights of nature into U.S. law. The difficulties in the political dynamics of our times actually offer a unique opportunity to engage leaders and citizens alike in discussions about this relatively unfamiliar legal strategy.

COVER STORY The success of the president’s trade strategy remains to be seen, but his promotion of “national security” as a driver can also be used by advocates to advance environmental protection. In the offing is a global security consensus that could be green and genuinely collective.

PROFILE As utility giant Exelon’s chief legal officer and corporate secretary, Colette Honorable is capping a career that helps her see all sides of complex energy issues and work with diverse regulators and stakeholders.

THE DEBATE Corporate climate risk disclosure rules across the world are shifting. In the United States, this past March the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it will no longer defend its 2024 Climate Disclosure Rule in ongoing litigation. The rule is currently still in effect, but is not being implemented. Then in September, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed ending requirements for large businesses to report their greenhouse gas emissions.

The climate risk disclosure landscape is also softening internationally, with a recent proposal from the European Union to narrow its Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. And Canada recently announced that it will pause the development of its climate-related disclosure rule.

But that is not the whole story. At the state level, California’s Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act and Climate-Related Financial Risk Act impose disclosure requirements beginning in 2026 for large companies that do business in the state. Similar bills have been introduced in Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Washington.

ELI convened an expert panel for a members-only webinar providing professionals with the latest information on the state of climate risk disclosure laws. The discussion covered what will be mandated domestically and abroad starting next year, and how these requirements might continue to change in the coming months. What follows is a transcript of that event that has been edited for length and clarity.