SEC Climate-Related Disclosures Rule
The US Securities and Exchange Commission's rule requiring listed companies to disclose material climate-related risks, governance, and Scope 1 / 2 emissions. Adopted March 2024; under active legal challenge.
The SEC announced the first scheduled review of the compliance threshold for industrial emitters, affecting facilities emitting above 25,000 tCO₂e annually. The review will consider whether the threshold should be lowered for refining, cement and steel sub-sectors.
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the SEC's authority to require climate disclosure under the Securities Act, but vacated specific provisions on Scope 3 disclosure as exceeding the agency's mandate. Filings resume for the upheld provisions.
Six weeks after adoption, the SEC voluntarily stayed implementation of the climate disclosure rule pending the outcome of consolidated legal challenges. Companies in scope hold filings under the rule but continue voluntary disclosure against TCFD and IFRS S2.
The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted the final climate-related disclosure rule by a 3-2 vote. The final rule narrowed the scope from the 2022 proposal — most notably dropping mandatory Scope 3 disclosure and limiting Scope 1 and 2 to material emissions of large accelerated filers and accelerated filers.
The SEC published its proposed climate disclosure rule. The proposal included mandatory Scope 1, 2 and material Scope 3 disclosure, climate-related governance and strategy, and assurance requirements scaled by filer size. The proposal received >16,000 comment letters.