• SEC tells court it won’t review climate rule—but won’t commit to enforcing it
• Commissioner Crenshaw: “The unspoken truth is the answer is no”
• Legal uncertainty clouds future of U.S. corporate climate reporting
SEC Remains Silent on Future of Climate Disclosure Rule
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has told the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals it does not plan to revisit or revise its climate disclosure rule—but also refused to say whether it will enforce the rule if legal challenges fail.
The comments come in a status report filed by the SEC on July 23, following a court order requesting clarity on whether the Commission will uphold the regulation if petitions for review are denied.
The rule, adopted in March 2024, required public companies to disclose climate-related financial risks, emissions, and plans to mitigate them. It faced swift opposition: nine legal challenges were filed within ten days, including lawsuits from 25 Republican state attorneys general and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The cases were consolidated in the Eighth Circuit.
While the SEC told the court it will not review the rules “at this time” and wants litigation to proceed, it declined to answer whether it would adhere to the rules if the court upholds them—saying that decision remains “subject to Commission deliberation.”
“The Commission simply does not want to say what we all know to be true by now—it has no intention of allowing the Climate-Related Disclosure Rules to go into effect,” said Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, the only current SEC member who supported the rule.
Commissioner Crenshaw Condemns SEC’s Position
In a sharply worded statement, Crenshaw accused the SEC of sidestepping its obligations under the Administrative Procedure Act, saying the agency is avoiding the formal rulemaking required to rescind the rule and instead hoping the court will do so.
RELATED ARTICLE: U.S. SEC Defends its Authority for Climate Disclosure Rule in Court
“The Court asked us in no uncertain terms ‘will [the Commission] adhere to the [R]ules if the petitions for review are denied?’ We did not—but should have—answered that question,” Crenshaw said.
“Three of the four current Commissioners have been vocal critics of the Rules. They have also withdrawn the Commission from the defense of the Rules in litigation.”
She warned that the Commission’s approach undermines both judicial process and public trust:
“This is not good governance. The Court should decline to play these games.”
The future of the climate disclosure rule now hinges on the court’s decision—and whether a politically divided Commission will act, even if it prevails.
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