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Tech giants call on the SEC to require climate impact reports from companies

Alphabet, Facebook, Amazon, Intel, eBay, Salesforce and Autodesk asked the agency to leverage global standards.

Paul Morigi via Getty Images

A group of tech giants — including Amazon, Facebook and Google parent Alphabet — have urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to push companies to issue climate change performance reports. Intel, eBay, Salesforce and Autodesk also signed the joint letter to SEC chair Gary Gensler.

Following an SEC request for public input on such disclosures, the companies called on the agency to make businesses report their greenhouse gas emissions, harnessing existing frameworks and "recognized global standards for required metrics, such as the World Resources Institute GHG Protocol." They also called on the SEC to allow for climate-related disclosures outside of annual, quarterly and other filings.

“We believe that climate disclosures are critical to ensure that companies follow through on stated climate commitments and to track collective progress towards addressing global warming and building a prosperous, resilient zero-carbon economy,” the companies wrote in the letter, which CNBC spotted.

The seven companies noted they've purchased 21 gigawatts of clean energy altogether and that they're each working toward operating on entirely renewable energy. Last month, Google revealed plans to run completely on carbon-free energy by 2030. Microsoft has pledged to become carbon negative by 2030. It's also a member of Amazon's Climate Pledge, alongside the likes of Uber, Rivian, Verizon (Engadget's parent company), IBM and Visa.