Climate change is the existential issue of our age. Its challenges are massive, its science is ever-developing and most now agree that its demands are immediate. How society deals with the immensity and immediacy of the challenge in the face of incomplete, immature, and sometimes inconclusive data is a question playing out now in our capital markets. Bending to demand from green investors and environmental activists, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed new rules on March 21, 2022, “to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures” to better inform investors' decision-making. How should reporting companies, already obligated to report on material risks to their businesses, “enhance and standardize” climate-related disclosure when the data are ambiguous or in conflict? This article proposes one possible and currently available solution: use satellite-based data. By requiring the use of available satellite data, regulators can protect investors from being misled by cherry-picked emissions data. We begin with a case for standardization and a brief history of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting and metrics, both in the United States and internationally, as well as SEC efforts regarding climate change disclosures. We then explore the precedent for satellite use and space-based technology in monitoring and regulatory compliance and argue that satellite and space data can be instrumental to help investors make more informed investment decisions based on reporting companies' true environmental impact.

中文翻译：

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在太空中，没有人能听到你是环保的：环境报告标准化、美国证券交易委员会拟议的气候变化披露规则和遥感技术

气候变化是我们这个时代的生存问题。它的挑战是巨大的，它的科学在不断发展，现在大多数人都认为它的需求是迫在眉睫的。面对不完整、不成熟、有时还不确定的数据，社会如何应对挑战的巨大性和紧迫性是我们资本市场目前面临的一个问题。应绿色投资者和环保活动家的要求，美国证券交易委员会 (SEC) 于 2022 年 3 月 21 日提出了新规则，“加强和规范与气候相关的披露”，以更好地为投资者的决策提供信息。已经有义务报告其业务的重大风险的报告公司应该如何，当数据模棱两可或存在冲突时，“加强和标准化”与气候相关的披露？本文提出了一种可能且当前可用的解决方案：使用基于卫星的数据。通过要求使用可用的卫星数据，监管机构可以保护投资者免受精心挑选的排放数据的误导。我们从一个标准化案例开始，简要介绍美国和国际上的环境、社会和治理 (ESG) 报告和指标的历史，以及 SEC 在气候变化披露方面的努力。然后，我们探讨了卫星使用和天基技术在监测和监管合规方面的先例，并认为卫星和空间数据可以帮助投资者根据报告公司的真实环境影响做出更明智的投资决策。