SEC Voluntarily Stays Implementation of Climate Rule

On April 4, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it would voluntarily stay the implementation of its new climate disclosure rule pending the completion of judicial review by the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. In the order, the Commission notes the stay “avoids potential regulatory uncertainty if registrants were to become subject to the Final Rules’ requirements during the pendency of the challenges…” The Commission stated, however, that it will “continue vigorously defending the Final Rules’ validity in court and looks forward to expeditious resolution of the litigation.” A pending court case like this is likely to take years to resolve and may extend into a Republican administration depending on the results of the November election. A Republican administration is likely to scrap the rules as adopted.

Click here to read a client alert from Ropes & Gray covering the Commission’s voluntary stay of the recently released climate rule.
Click here to read a recent MFDF blog post outlining the recent challenges to the new climate rule.