Mar. 31, 2022
Dear Chair Gary Gensler, I am writing as a small business owner and Woolsey Wildfire evacuee to express my support for Proposed Rule S7-10-22: Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors. Part Two of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (https://protect2.fireeye.com/v1/url?k=31323334-50bba2bf-3132d782-4544474f5631-f020233ae040bd0a&q=1&e=5e0a0911-620b-4476-b7fd-fbd8bad5cd65&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipcc.ch%2Freport%2Fsixth-assessment-report-working-group-ii%2F), released on 2/28/22, makes clear, again, that everything Americans value is riding on ambitious and immediate Climate Action. The International scientific community warns that the world's window for cutting greenhouse gas pollution, and our capacity to adapt to resulting impacts, is rapidly narrowing and will quickly reach “hard” limits beyond which adaptation becomes impossible. Allowing temperatures to rise above 1.5C, in line with current trends, will result in irreversible impacts, including melting ice caps and glaciers (causing a 20% decline in snowmelt used for irrigation and drinking water, and a doubling of flood damage), the permanent loss of 14% of land-based plant and animal species, and a cascading effect whereby wildfires, tree die-offs, peatland desiccation and thawing permafrost amplify unstoppable and self-reinforcing feedback loops forcing escalating Climate Destabilization. As retired U.S. Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as Colin Powell's chief of staff during the Iraq war, put it, “If you look at that [technical] section [of that IPCC report], you can conclude that you do not want to live in a 1.5 degree world, you probably can’t live in a 2 degree world, and we are very likely headed for a 3 or4 degree world.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMGBSN6RmRQ) IPCC's Regional Analysis underscores that this Climate Emergency impacts everyone. “Like taking a wrecking ball to a set of global dominoes, Climate Change threatens to destroy the foundations of food and water security, smash fragile structures of human and ecosystem health, and shake the very pillars of human civilization.” In North America, IPCC warns of rising deaths and physical and mental illness due to worsening, compounding extreme weather, from storms to wildfires. (https://protect2.fireeye.com/v1/url?k=31323334-50bba2bf-3132d782-4544474f5631-d226807c81de036c&q=1&e=5e0a0911-620b-4476-b7fd-fbd8bad5cd65&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipcc.ch%2Freport%2Far6%2Fwg2%2Fdownloads%2Foutreach%2FIPCC_AR6_WGII_FactSheet_NorthAmerica.pdf ). Droughts and floods are already pummeling U.S. farm productivity; in California, where my family lives, farmers are already warning that the former will mean the end of our farming economy within the next decade if change doesn't come soon. Without immediate, rapid, large-scale fossil fuel cuts, Americans can expect: heatwaves too hot to grow food and work outside, vitamin and mineral-deficient fruits and vegetables, 10-25% lower crop yields for every extra degree of heating, and 30% less usable farm and pasture. IPCC also warns the extent of losses and damages will escalate with every additional increment of Global Heating and lists the mounting dangers to people, wildlife, ecosystems and economies in the millions & billions of people at risk, and the potential damages in the trillions of dollars. Climate change is already creating significant instability and disruption in our financial and economic systems which will only worsen. I believe that implementation and enforcement of a strong rule will give investors like me the tools we need to protect our investments and hold companies accountable for reducing heat-trapping emissions. I applaud the SEC for exercising its mandate to ensure that investors and the public have access to science-based information about risks that could affect their investments. Climate change is already having far-reaching impacts across our society and having data about its likely impacts on companies’ assets and long-term business outlook is essential for investors to make informed decisions and protect the wellbeing of our economy. Please pass a strong climate disclosure rule as soon as possible. Sincerely, Mrs. Rose Ann Witt Westlake Village, CA 91362