US regulators have voted to require large, publicly traded companies to disclose climate change-related information to investors, though its scope has been significantly scaled back from the original draft proposal.

The long-awaited rule which was finalized in a 3-2 vote by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, marks the first nationwide climate disclosure rule in the US. Some experts say it will give investors more transparency into the threat the climate crisis poses to corporations and how they contribute to global warming.

But at Wednesday’s hearing, some commissioners lamented the agency weakening the rule. “While it has my vote, it does not have my unencumbered support,” said SEC commissioner Caroline Abbey Crenshaw, who said the new standard constituted the “bare minimum.”

The SEC has long faced pushback from business interests and Republican state officials who claim the standards are a form of agency overreach. Though the final rule has been severely watered down, it is expected to inspire a slew of lawsuits from rightwing officials and corporate interests.

Under the original proposal, all public companies would have been required to calculate and report certain greenhouse gas emissions. But the final rule will apply only to large businesses. 60% of all domestic public companies, including smaller companies and emerging growth businesses – which generally have less than $1.2bn in annual revenues – will be exempt.

Beginning in 2025, those larger public companies will be required to disclose short- and long-term physical climate risks to their assets, such as potential exposure to hurricanes and droughts. They will also need to reveal any spending related to their climate goals, such as purchases of carbon offsets or renewable energy credits. Unlike the original proposal, the final rule does not require companies to state the climate expertise