On May 4, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) submitted a rulemaking proposal to the U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (“OIRA”) titled “Rescission of Climate-Related Disclosure Rules,” signaling the agency’s intent to formally rescind its climate-related disclosure rules (the “Climate Disclosure Rules”).
Since we last checked in, the SEC voted to discontinue its defense of the Climate Disclosure Rules under then-Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda, which it voluntarily stayed in light of pending litigation. However, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held the case in abeyance, stating that “it is the agency’s responsibility to determine whether its Final Rules will be rescinded, repealed, modified, or defended in litigation.” The proposal to rescind the Climate Disclosure Rules is under review by OIRA, which must complete its review before the SEC can formally publish the proposed rule and seek public comment.
While the SEC moves toward rescission, the standards underlying greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions reporting continue to evolve. The GHG Protocol, which develops internationally accepted GHG accounting and reporting standards, released in March 2026 draft proposed revisions to its Scope 3 Standard. Scope 3 emissions encompass indirect emissions across a company’s value chain. Among the key proposed changes are a new requirement for companies to report at least 95% of required Scope 3 emissions to remain in compliance with the standard and the creation of a new category, “Category 16,” covering other value chain activities such as facilitated emissions, insurance-associated activities, underwriting, and licensing. During the public comment period for the Climate Disclosure Rules, there was significant pushback on inclusion of Scope 3 emissions, which led to Scope 3 requirements being omitted from the SEC’s final rules. Despite this, there has been broad international adoption of disclosure regimes including Scope 3, such as the IFRS Foundation’s ISSB standards and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (“ESRS”) underlying the CSRD.
The SEC under Chair Paul Atkins has emphasized a return to a “materiality-focused” approach to securities regulation. While OIRA reviews the SEC’s rulemaking proposal, the contents are not publicly available. We will review the rulemaking proposal on this blog once it becomes available.