On Friday, SEC Chairman Gensler announced the appointment of five lawyers to his policy staff. Among them is one individual--Mika Morse, who previously worked for Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)--with the title of "climate counsel" whose policy remit is to be the "lead policy advisor on climate-risk finance issues."
Chairman Gensler's decision to appoint someone to his policy staff whose sole focus will be on climate risk and its impact on financial matters further highlights the importance of climate issues to the SEC's agenda. It seems clear that noteworthy developments will be taking place in this regulatory space over the next few months--and likely led by Ms. Morse, as "Climate Counsel."
Mika Morse Climate Counsel Mika Morse serves as the lead policy advisor on climate-risk finance issues. Immediately before joining the SEC, Ms. Morse served as senior counsel and deputy legislative director for U.S. Senator Brian Schatz. In this role, she was responsible for developing and implementing the Senator's legislative priorities on the Banking Committee, Commerce Committee, and Appropriations Committee. Previously, Ms. Morse was an international trade associate at Sidley Austin in Washington, D.C., and she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Stephen Robinson in the Southern District of New York. Ms. Morse received her J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. from Harvard College.