Attorney General Cuomo announces agreement with AES to disclose climate change risks to investors

News from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo:

ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH AES TO DISCLOSE CLIMATE CHANGE RISKS TO INVESTORS

News from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo

ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH AES TO DISCLOSE CLIMATE CHANGE RISKS TO INVESTORS

Latest agreement in Cuomo’s disclosure initiative requires AES to
fully detail financial liabilities posed by regulation of global warming
pollution

NEW YORK, N.Y. (November 19, 2009) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo
today announced an agreement that requires the AES Corporation (AES) - a
global energy company operating in 29 countries with annual revenues
exceeding $16 billion - to disclose timely and relevant information to
investors about financial risks associated with the production of global
warming pollution.

Today’s agreement with AES follows the landmark settlements Cuomo
reached last year with two other major energy companies, Dynegy, Inc.
and Xcel Energy, to protect investors by ensuring disclosure of
potential financial risks for carbon-intensive companies from new and
upcoming regulatory efforts related to climate change.

“As efforts to curb climate change continue, it is important that the
investing public know the financial risks of companies that produce
large quantities of global warming pollution,” said Attorney General
Cuomo. “My office’s initiative to make sure companies are up front
with investors continues and I applaud AES for joining other energy
companies in setting an industry standard to benefit both the
environment and the marketplace.”

Under the Attorney General’s agreement, AES must disclose material
risks associated with climate change in its annual summary report on the
company’s performance (Form 10K) to the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC). These required disclosures include an analysis of
material financial risks from climate change related to:

● Present and probable future climate change regulation and
legislation
● Climate-change related litigation
● Physical impacts of climate change

Through the agreement, AES has committed to a broad array of additional
climate change disclosures including:

● Current carbon emissions
● Projected increases in carbon emissions from planned coal-fired
power plants
● Company strategies for reducing, offsetting, limiting, or
otherwise managing its global warming pollution emissions and expected
global warming emissions reductions from these actions
● Corporate governance actions related to climate change,
including if environmental performance is incorporated into officer
compensation.

New regulatory efforts to reduce global warming pollution, including
New York’s regulation of carbon emissions from power plants, as well
as pending federal actions, can impact a carbon-intensive company’s
financial outlook through the costs incurred to comply. Potential
investors must be aware of such material risks in order to make an
informed investment decision.

AES generates and distributes energy in 29 countries and reported
revenues of $16.1 billion in 2008. The company has a worldwide total
power generation capacity of approximately 43,000 megawatts and an
international distribution network serving more than 11 million people.


In the U.S., AES operates 17 power facilities, the majority of which
are fueled by coal, with a total generation capacity of almost 12,000
megawatts. The company’s U.S. plants emitted a reported 42 million
tons of carbon dioxide in 2006, placing AES among the top 20 of the
largest emitters of global warming pollution by energy companies in the
country.

In New York state, the company operates four coal-fired power plants
generating more than 1,200 megawatts under the name AES Eastern Energy:
AES Cayuga (Lansing, Tompkins County), AES Greenridge (Dresden, Yates
County), AES Somerset (Barker, Niagara County) and AES Westover (Johnson
City, Broome County).

In September 2007, Attorney General Cuomo subpoenaed five major energy
companies for information on whether disclosures to investors in filings
with the SEC adequately described their financial risks related to
emissions of global warming pollution. The subpoenas were issued under
New York State’s Martin Act, a 1921 state securities law that grants
the Attorney General broad powers to access the financial records of
businesses. The Attorney General reached agreements with Xcel and
Dynegy in 2008. Cuomo’s inquiry into the disclosures of the remaining
companies subpoenaed in 2007 - Dominion Resources and Peabody Energy -
is ongoing.

The Attorney General noted that AES cooperated fully with his
office’s inquiry.

This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorneys General Daniel
Sangeap and Morgan Costello under the supervision of Executive Deputy
Attorney General for Economic Justice Eric Corngold, Special Deputy
Attorney General for Environmental Protection Katherine Kennedy and
Executive Deputy Attorney General for Social Justice Mylan Denerstein.