For Immediate Release: March 7, 2024
Contact: Bailey Fisher, Federal Affairs Specialist, bmfisher@pfb.com, 717-731-3585
Grant Gulibon, Regulatory Affairs Specialist, grgulibon@pfb.com, 717-731-3547
On March 6, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published their final rule entitled, “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.” The rule was initially proposed in March 2022, and would have required publicly traded companies and their entities to report their Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Farm Bureau was most concerned with Scope 3 as this would have impacted farmers and ranchers because while farmers are not registered with the SEC, they would have been tangled up as an entity in the supply chain for the reporting requirements.
Food prices and labor costs are already at all-time highs, which is why Farm Bureau opposed having Scope 3 included in the rule. After Farm Bureau submitted comments to the public record raising compliance, privacy, and liability concerns with the rule, members were asked to advocate for the SEC not to include Scope 3 in the final rule. The SEC heard Farm Bureau and other stakeholders’ plea for Scope 3 not to be included in the final rule. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler acknowledged that the agriculture community was never intended to be included in the rule.
Chairman Gensler made good on his word by not including Scope 3 in the final rule. This was a major win for Farm Bureau as members and staff have worked for almost two years advocating for an agricultural exclusion.
“Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) extends our greatest thanks to Chairman Gensler and his staff for recognizing the consequences of including Scope 3 in the climate-related disclosures rule by excluding agriculture in the final rule, said PFB President Chris Hoffman. “Our members are stewards of the environment and work hard every day to provide the food, fuel, and fiber this country needs. Farmers and ranchers are constantly using practices on their operation to improve air, water, and soil quality. By reducing red tape for agriculture like we saw in this final rule, we will see more affordable food and a competitive future for U.S. agriculture.”
“This could not have been accomplished without the help and advocacy of our U.S. House and Senate Members. PFB members have visited with their U.S. legislators to give their story on how the initial SEC proposal would have affected their farm and clearly, we made an impact. This win exemplifies the power of Farm Bureau’s unified and member driven voice.”
Again, PFB is appreciative of the SEC taking into consideration the costly impacts the initial proposal would have had on farmers and ranchers across the nation. Our members can continue their everyday efforts to better the environment without having to worry about hiring expensive engineers to track their greenhouse gas emissions. Now, Farm Bureau asks for California to follow the SEC’s lead and remove its Scope 3 reporting requirement for any company doing business in the state.
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Pennsylvania Farm Bureau is the state’s largest farm organization, representing farms of every size and commodity across Pennsylvania.