SEC Moves to Rescind 2024 Climate-Disclosure Rule, Sends Proposal for White House Review

The Securities and Exchange Commission has begun the formal process of trying to undo its 2024 climate-disclosure rule, sending a proposed rescission to the White House office that reviews major federal regulations before publication.

The proposal, titled “Rescission of Climate-Related Disclosure Rules,” was submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on May 4, according to the public RegInfo dashboard. The listing identifies it as a “Proposed Rule” and as “economically significant.” That matters because it moves the SEC from signaling opposition to the rule to starting the rulemaking process required to repeal it. The rollback is not final: After OIRA review, the SEC could publish the proposal in the Federal Register and open it for public comment.

The rule now targeted for repeal was adopted March 6, 2024, as “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.” It was one of the most consequential U.S. efforts to create a standard federal framework for climate reporting by public companies. The measure would have required companies to disclose material climate-related risks to their business strategy, operations or financial condition; the role of boards and management in overseeing those risks; certain financial-statement effects from severe weather and other natural conditions; and, on a phased-in basis, certain Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions. The final rule did not require Scope 3 emissions disclosures.

In practice, though, the rule never took effect. On April 4, 2024, the SEC issued an Order Issuing Stay that paused the measure while court challenges proceeded. That meant the climate-disclosure requirements were frozen almost immediately and never reached enforcement.

The agency’s retreat continued the following year. On March 27, 2025, the SEC voted to stop defending the rule in court, saying its staff had notified the court that the agency was withdrawing the Commission’s defense. Then-Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda said at the time: “The goal of today’s Commission action and notification to the court is to cease the Commission’s involvement in the defense of the costly and unnecessarily intrusive climate change disclosure rules.”

Those legal challenges had been consolidated in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The court later held the petitions in abeyance, or on hold, and directed the SEC to say whether it would rescind, modify or continue defending the rule. The new OIRA filing is the clearest procedural sign yet that the agency is moving toward rescission rather than trying to revive the 2024 measure.

The current SEC chair, Paul S. Atkins, was sworn in on April 21, 2025. Under his leadership, the agency has made clear it wants the rule scrapped. In a statement reported by ESG Today, an SEC spokesperson said: “At the Chairman’s direction, SEC staff is preparing a recommendation to the Commission to rescind the agency’s 2024 climate rules.” The spokesperson added: “Under Chairman Atkins, the Commission is focused on returning the agency to its core mandate – in line with its legal authority – restoring a materiality-focused approach to securities regulation.”

The move is drawing familiar responses. Business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have praised the unwind, while investor and advocacy groups such as As You Sow and Public Citizen have criticized it as a loss of standardized climate information for investors. Even if the SEC ultimately finalizes a repeal, that would not erase climate-reporting pressure altogether. Some companies could still face disclosure requirements under state laws, including California’s regime, as well as continued demands from investors.