SEC Climate Disclosure Rescission Comment Period Closes August 3 — Stakes Escalate

The SEC's proposed full rescission of its March 2024 climate-related disclosure rules — voted on May 29, 2026 and published for comment June 3 — closed its public comment period August 3, with investor groups, environmental organizations, and state regulators filing substantial opposition and industry groups largely supporting the rescission. The 2024 rules had never taken effect due to litigation; their rescission would eliminate any federal mandate for public companies to disclose climate-related risks, greenhouse gas emissions, or material climate impacts, removing the SEC as a driver of comparable US climate disclosure at the federal level. California remains the primary counterweight: CARB extended the SB 253 first-reporting deadline for Scope 1 and 2 emissions from August 10 to November 10, 2026, while confirming that no template or assurance is required for first-year reports — "the deadline moved; the obligation did not." SB 261, requiring climate financial risk reporting, remains enjoined pending the Ninth Circuit appeal. For corporate counsel advising multinationals, the US regulatory vacuum intensifies the importance of ISSB-aligned disclosure programs that satisfy EU, UK, Australian, and Japanese requirements simultaneously.