The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has significantly narrowed its greenhouse gas emissions disclosure requirements, influenced by the powerful farm lobby led by the American Farm Bureau Federation. This group, despite having little experience lobbying the SEC previously, was successful in their efforts due to assistance from Sen. Jon Tester, a fellow farmer.
Prior to these changes, the SEC’s proposed rules, initiated in 2022, would have mandated large public companies to disclose the greenhouse gas emissions of their suppliers, including family farms. Concerned about this regulation, lobbyist Travis Cushman amplified the Farm Bureau’s long-standing argument that this was another instance of unnecessary bureaucratic regulation.
In an effective display of lobbying power, the farm interests won sympathizers in Congress, even among Democrats, thus ensuring the death of this aspect of the SEC’s emissions-reporting rules that would have been applicable to supply chains.
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