SEC Drops Court Defense of Its Climate Risk Disclosure Rule

(Washington, D.C. – March 27, 2025) Today the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it would not defend its climate risk disclosure rule in court. The rule requires large corporations to let investors and the public know about the climate-related financial risks they face.

“Climate change is causing more frequent and intense weather disasters that are putting people’s money, as well as their health and safety, at risk,” said Stephanie Jones, Senior Attorney for Environmental Defense Fund. “The SEC’s climate risk disclosure rule helps protect Americans’ hard-earned savings. It provides crucial transparency, is rooted in the law and the SEC’s longstanding mission, and has strong support from investors and the public. The SEC now says it will not defend this critical protection when it’s needed more than ever.”

The SEC’s climate risk disclosure rule is designed to standardize the information public companies disclose to investors about the climate-related financial risks they face.  

The rule is being challenged by industry, allied states, and others in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Other states intervened to defend the rule, with investors, bipartisan officials, and others also weighing in to support it. EDF, along with Americans for Financial Reform, Sierra Club, Sierra Club Foundation (represented by Earthjustice), and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed an amicus curiae – or “friend of the court” – brief in support of the rule in the case before the Eighth Circuit.