The Securities and Exchange Commission this week voted to end its defense to several court challenges of its climate disclosure rule.
The Biden-era rule requires companies to disclose material climate-related risks, activities to mitigate or adapt to such risks, and information about the board’s and management’s oversight of risks and estimates of the financial effects of severe weather events. Large companies also would be required to disclose audited measurements of certain greenhouse gas emissions. Last year, the SEC paused enforcement of the rule while federal courts considered various legal challenges brought by states, businesses and business groups.
In a statement after its vote, SEC Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda said the goal “is to cease the commission’s involvement in the defense of the costly and unnecessarily intrusive climate change disclosure rules.”
The Trump administration has pulled back on several climate initiatives in recent months, with the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency pulling out of international efforts by financial institutions and regulators to address the issue.
