On May 4, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) submitted a proposed rulemaking titled Rescission of Climate‑Related Disclosure Rules to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review. This submission marks the first formal step toward potential rescission, through notice-and-comment rulemaking, of the SEC’s climate‑related disclosure rules (Climate Rules), which were adopted in 2024. OIRA review is required for significant regulatory actions before an agency can formally publish the rulemaking and serves to coordinate agency rulemaking to ensure consistency with applicable law and the administration’s priorities, and to prevent regulatory actions by one agency from conflicting with those taken or planned by another, among other things. In February 2025, OIRA’s scope of review was expanded to include regulations issued by independent regulatory agencies, including the SEC.
The submission of this proposed rulemaking signals that the SEC is moving forward with a proposal to rescind the Climate Rules. Although the rules technically remain in place (i.e., they have not been vacated by a court, nor have they have been formally rescinded through rulemaking), they have been voluntarily stayed since April 2024 (see our prior post). In addition, in March 2025, the SEC withdrew its defense of the Climate Rules (see our prior post), and in September 2025, the Eighth Circuit issued an order to hold the litigation in abeyance (see our prior post), effectively pausing the case indefinitely pending further action.
Public companies should continue to monitor developments, including the scope of the SEC’s proposed approach and the timing of any follow‑on rulemaking steps. Please note that, at this point, the public can only see that a proposed rule has been submitted to OIRA; we will not see the substance of the proposed rule until after OIRA review and further SEC action to issue the proposal.
