The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is facing pushback across the energy sector after issuing a draft rule that could require public companies to disclose more information about their emissions and their strategies.

CO2 emissions

In a 3-1 decision earlier this week, the SEC voted to propose a groundbreaking rule that would force companies to intimate their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and what risks climate change might hold for their future.

If approved, the rule would codify risk mitigation plans and disclosures that some companies, including the energy industry, have been voluntarily creating. Information that would be required under the proposal is split into four areas: governance, strategy, risk management and metrics/targets.

Among other things, companies would be...