On Friday, a federal appeals court announced it would temporarily halt its review of legal challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate rules, pending the agency’s decision on whether to revise the regulations or defend them in court, according to court filings.
During former President Joe Biden’s administration, the SEC introduced rules mandating that publicly traded companies disclose climate-related risks, emissions, and expenditures to investors—a move swiftly challenged in court by Republican-led states and an industry group. Under Republican President Donald Trump, the SEC voted in March to stop defending the rule.
In a Friday order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that the legal challenges would “will be held in abeyance to promote judicial economy,” noting that the SEC had neither defended the rule in court nor indicated whether it intended to modify or abandon it altogether.
"It is the agency’s responsibility to determine whether its Final Rules will be rescinded, repealed, modified, or defended in litigation," the court’s order stated, highlighting that the SEC had already postponed the regulations’ effective date during the legal challenge, ensuring that any delay in the court’s decision would not cause harm.
SEC representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, in July, the agency informed the court that it did not plan to revisit the rule, urging the court to move forward with the case nonetheless.
