David Lynn spoke to the Wall Street Journal about the cost of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) proposed rules on climate disclosure, which is emerging as a key battleground as businesses and politicians fight over a plan to require companies to tally their impact on the environment and the risks they face from climate change.

"This climate rule making is unlike anything I've seen in my 25-year career in securities law, in the breadth and scope of the proposals," David said. "It is standing up a whole new disclosure regime."

For companies that are starting from scratch in reporting climate data, complying with the rules could be more expensive than the SEC estimates. According to David, it will involve creating new systems to collect, analyze, and report the data needed, and potentially hiring new staff, consultants, and auditors. He added that the costs are difficult to estimate and could be well higher than the SEC believes.

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