On April 4, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) voluntarily
issued an order staying its recently adopted
climate disclosure rules (the “Final Rules”), pending the completion of judicial review of the consolidated Eighth Circuit petitions. As noted in our
recent client alert, after adoption, the Final Rules were quickly subject to numerous legal challenges, including suits in the Second, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Eleventh and D.C. Circuits.
The Commission noted in the order that, “In issuing a stay, the Commission is not departing from its view that the Final Rules are consistent with applicable law and within the Commission’s long-standing authority to require the disclosure of information important to investors in making investment and voting decisions. Thus, the Commission will continue vigorously defending the Final Rules’ validity in court and looks forward to expeditious resolution of the litigation.”
The ultimate scope of the Final Rules following judicial review is uncertain and it is possible that the compliance deadlines, which are set to be phased-in over a few years, will be pushed back. The Final Rules call for varying compliance deadlines, beginning with large accelerated filers for fiscal year 2025 (in filings made in 2026).
The order does not stay any other Commission rules related to climate disclosure and the Commission explicitly confirmed that its 2010 Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change is still in effect.
