SEC Abandons Climate Disclosure Rules

On March 27, 2025, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to abandon its defense of its climate-related disclosure rule for public companies, signaling the end of the controversial rule. The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors (the Rule) was adopted by the SEC on March 6, 2024 and was subsequently stayed by the SEC on April 4, 2024 due to pending litigation in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit brought by states and private parties challenging the Rule's implementation. Adopted by the Biden administration, the Rule has been an anticipated target of the Trump administration.

SEC Acting Chair Mark Uyeda stated that the SEC would no longer defend the Rule in the ongoing litigation, calling the Rule "costly and unnecessarily intrusive." While the SEC is no longer defending the Rule, the litigation remains pending in the Eighth Circuit. Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, currently the only Democratic