SEC Moves To Dismantle Biden-Era Climate Disclosure Rule

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is moving to roll back a Biden-era climate disclosure rule that would have required publicly traded companies to report climate-related risks, emissions, and spending to investors.

According to a notice filed with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the Wall Street regulator is drafting new regulations aimed at rescinding the rule, marking another major reversal of climate-related policies under President Donald Trump’s administration.

The rule, adopted in 2024 under former President Joe Biden, was designed to improve transparency around how companies manage climate risks and related financial exposure. However, it immediately faced legal challenges from Republican-led states and industry groups, which argued the SEC had exceeded its authority.

The SEC later paused implementation of the rule while court proceedings continued. Earlier this year, the agency voted to stop defending the regulation in court, signaling a broader shift away from mandatory climate reporting requirements.

An SEC spokesperson said the rollback is intended to refocus the agency on its “core mandate” by ensuring corporate disclosures only cover information considered material to investors.

The move reflects the Trump administration’s wider effort to unwind federal climate regulations and reduce ESG-related reporting obligations for businesses and financial markets.

Formal SEC rulemaking to rescind the 2024 climate disclosure rule (already paused pending litigation) removes a substantial pillar of federal mandatory climate reporting. The "material information only" framing signals return to pre-2024 disclosure architecture where climate information appears only where issuer-and-auditor judgement deems it material.

The practical planning challenge for US-listed companies is complexity, not simplification. California SB 253/261, EU CSRD extraterritorial reach, ISSB voluntary adoption pressure from institutional investors, and Scope 3 requirements from corporate customers all persist regardless of SEC action. Companies that built reporting capability under the SEC framework should redirect that capability toward California, EU and ISSB requirements rather than dismantling it.

For US-listed corporates, financial institutions with US-listing portfolio exposure and their sustainability advisors, Cognitud's ESG strategy and transformation, sustainability due diligence and market intelligence teams help clients evaluate exposure under evolving federal-versus-state-versus-international regulatory divergence, structure disclosure infrastructure robust across regulatory scenarios, and prepare disclosures aligned with SEC, California, ISSB and jurisdictional climate-disclosure frameworks.