CVX Chevron Corporation

WASHINGTON—The White House is set to propose a new rule Wednesday that would push companies with federal contracts to publicly disclose more information about their impact on climate change, their efforts to address the issue, and how a warmer planet could impact business operations.

The White House's Federal Acquisition Regulation Council, which directs government contracts, is expected to require companies that have contracts with the U.S. government to indicate publicly whether they disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, their goals to cut those emissions, and the risks a changing climate could pose to their operations.

"The goal in this effort is to try to have better and clearer information both about greenhouse gas emissions and accounting for climate-related risks," Brian Deese, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, said in an interview. "We want to make sure that better information is informing contracting decisions going forward."

The rule, which is expected to be finalized this fall after a public comment period, would affect an estimated 90% of all federal contracts, or more than $400 billion in annual contracting expenditures, according to the administration.

The White House announcement will coincide with meetings Wednesday of Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. shareholders, where attendees are expected to vote on resolutions that would require the companies to disclose more information about the risks new climate-change regulations pose to their businesses.

Both companies opposed the investor proposals, which call for them to show how the value of their assets could fall if the world moves toward lower-carbon energy sources. They're not expected to pass Wednesday, but they are expected to garner a far higher percentage of votes at each company than in previous years.

The White House rule is much less sweeping than the activist investor efforts because it doesn't actually require any new public disclosure of information, only reporting on whether that information is currently disclosed. It also doesn't address the impact of climate-change regulations.

The rule instead seeks to put companies on the record one way or the other about whether they have revealed their greenhouse gas emissions and goals to cut those emissions, and whether they have considered how the effects of a warmer planet—such as an increase in extreme weather events—could impact operations.

Administration officials say they hope the rule will add to the public debate about climate-change risks, including events like Wednesday's shareholder meetings of two of the U.S.'s biggest oil and natural-gas companies.

"There are significant existing demand drivers for disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related risk data, including growing calls from investors, insurers, and institutions," three administration officials wrote in a blog item to be posted Wednesday. "Today's announcement sends another clear market signal that there is strong interest for disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related risk data government-wide."

The federal government is a major buyer of petroleum products, often for Department of Defense operations such as jet fuel for aircraft or diesel for Navy vessels. Exxon Mobil, Chevron and other major oil companies routinely compete for and win such contracts, which can extend across multiple years and stretch into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Write to Amy Harder at amy.harder@wsj.com and Bradley Olson at Bradley.Olson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 25, 2016 10:35 ET (14:35 GMT)

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