Statement Summary
The SEC has proposed the rescission of stringent climate-related disclosure rules for companies, aiming to realign with its core statutory authority and focus on materiality in securities regulation. SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins emphasized that disclosure obligations should balance benefits against costs and avoid steering corporate behavior. In response to the litigation surrounding these rules, which mandated detailed climate disclosures from public companies, the SEC now believes these rules exceed its authority and are too burdensome. The public will have 60 days to comment on this proposal after its publication in the Federal Register.
Original Statement
The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed the rescission of overly burdensome and costly rules that require companies to provide certain climate-related information in their registration statements and annual reports. The Commission’s proposal focuses on returning the agency to its core mandate – in line with its legal authority – and restoring a materiality-focused approach to securities regulation.
“SEC disclosure obligations should comply with the Commission’s statutory authority, be guided by materiality as the North Star, avoid the practical effect of dictating corporate behavior, and be imposed only when the expected benefits justify the likely costs and burdens,” said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins in a statement.
The Commission in March 2024 approved amendments to its rules under the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to mandate highly specific and granular disclosure from virtually all public companies about climate-related matters such as greenhouse gas emissions, management of climate-related risks, and the financial statement effects of severe weather events.
On April 4, 2024, the Commission stayed the climate disclosure rules pending completion of consolidated litigation in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. On March 27, 2025, the Commission voted to end its defense of the final rules. On Sept. 12, 2025, the Eighth Circuit issued an order holding the consolidated petitions for review in abeyance until such time as the Commission reconsiders the challenged rules by notice-and-comment rulemaking or renews its defense of the climate disclosure rules.
The Commission is now proposing to rescind the climate disclosure rules in their entirety because they exceed the scope of the agency’s statutory authority. Even if it had authority to adopt such final rules, the Commission believes there are independent, compelling policy reasons to rescind them entirely. The public comment period will remain open for 60 days following the publication of the proposing release in the Federal Register.
