What: On June 3, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) published a proposed withdrawal of its climate-related disclosure rule that required registrants and public companies to provide standardized, detailed information about climate-related risks, governance, and certain greenhouse gas emissions in SEC filings. This action would eliminate the pending disclosure framework rather than replacing it with an alternative set of climate-specific reporting requirements, reverting issuers to existing, principles-based disclosure obligations.
Why: The Commission is proposing to rescind the climate-related disclosure adopted in 2024 because the final rules were, in the Commission’s view, an overreach of statutory authority and unsound policy. The SEC further states it is rolling back the climate disclosure rules, considering legal challenges and questions about whether the rule imposed disproportionate compliance costs relative to investor-protection benefits. The Commission also points to the need to reassess its regulatory agenda and avoid duplicative or overlapping mandates where climate-related information may already be captured under existing materiality-based disclosure standards and other regulatory or market-driven Environmental Social Governance frameworks.
The Office of Advocacy previously commented on the proposed rule in 2022, encouraging the SEC to publish a supplemental initial regulatory flexibility analysis and to reconsider the breadth of its Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) disclosure rules.
Action: Read the withdrawal of the final rules and submit comments by the August 3, 2026, deadline.
FINAL RULE:
Rescission of Climate-Related Disclosure Rules
CONTACT:
John Vatian
EMAIL:
Regulatory Alerts
TAG(S):
SEC
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