The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to end its defense of the rules requiring disclosure of climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions.
SEC acting chair Mark Uyeda said in a statement: “The goal of today’s Commission action and notification to the court is to cease the Commission’s involvement in the defense of the costly and unnecessarily intrusive climate change disclosure rules.”
The rules, adopted by the SEC last year, create a detailed and extensive special disclosure regime about climate risks for issuing and reporting companies. States and private parties have challenged the rules and the SEC previously stayed effectiveness of the rules pending completion of that litigation. Briefing in the cases was completed before the change in government administration.
SEC staff sent a letter to the court stating that the regulator withdraws its defense of the rules and that counsel are no longer authorized to advance the arguments in the brief filed.