Yesterday, March 27, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) notified the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit that the SEC wishes to withdraw its defense of its landmark Climate Disclosure Rules (Climate Rules) in Iowa v. SEC, the case challenging the validity of the Climate Rules. SEC lawyers are “no longer authorized to advance” the case, thereby terminating mandatory climate-related disclosures for US public companies for the foreseeable future.
Notwithstanding this decision, acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda stated during a Wall Street Journal summit on March 6, 2025 that climate and other ESG-related disclosures will remain necessary for some companies if such information is “material” to shareholders. Uyeda noted that, for years, federal securities laws have required disclosure of climate and other ESG-related matters under the materiality standard, which, as articulated by case law, is viewed through the lens of whether a reasonable investor would consider the information important when deciding to buy, sell, or vote a company’s securities. The SEC’s 2010 guidance on climate-related disclosures provides a roadmap for companies assessing climate-related risks and disclosures.
Additionally, at the state level, California’s SB-253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, and SB-261, the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act, remain applicable for certain companies doing business in California, and legislators in at least five states – Colorado, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, and New York – have introduced similar climate disclosure rules in their 2025 legislative sessions.
[View source.]
