In Dec. 23’s Federal Register, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council announced an extension – from Jan. 13 to Feb. 13 – of the comment period for its proposed rule to require certain federal contractors to disclose information regarding their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risk and set science-based targets to reduce their GHG emissions. The rule implements elements of President Biden’s May 20, 2021, Executive Order 14030, “Climate-Related Financial Risk.”

This proposed rule would require certain federal contractors to complete an inventory of GHG emissions; complete an annual climate disclosure, including a climate risk assessment process and any identified risks, and post those disclosures on a publicly available website; and develop science-based targets for reducing GHG emissions to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, an international treaty to address climate change. The proposal includes distinct requirements that are generally applicable to “significant contractors,” defined as those that received between $7.5 and $50 million in federal contract obligations in the prior fiscal year, and “major contractors,” defined as those that received more than $50 million in federal contract obligations in the prior fiscal year.