On March 6, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) finalized its long-awaited climate-related disclosures rules (the “Final Rules”), which set forth what climate-related information U.S. listed companies (including foreign private issuers (“FPIs”)) will be required to disclose in their SEC filings. See our prior publications which discuss the Final Rules here and here.
At this time, the SEC does not permit companies to substitute compliance with the Final Rules with disclosures made in response to requirements of other climate-related disclosure regimes. U.S. listed companies that have operations in California and/or Europe and/or conduct business in other regions that require climate disclosures may find themselves subject to several climate-related disclosure regimes. In addition, there is much litigation that, when resolved, may significantly impact the required disclosures under the Final Rules. On April 4, 2024, the SEC stayed the Final Rules pending the completion of judicial review of the consolidated petitions for review in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. In its order issuing the stay, the SEC stated that it would continue to vigorously defend the validity of the Final Rules in court.
While there is still much that is uncertain about the Final Rules and the other climate-related disclosure regimes, the obligations they impose are quite extensive. Therefore, companies should start to assess how the Final Rules could affect their upcoming SEC filings and other global compliance obligations.
Freshfields has published a full briefing on this topic, where we provide a detailed comparison of the requirements of the Final Rules, as well as the International Sustainability Standards Board standards, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the European Sustainability Reporting Standards and the California Climate Accountability Package. This briefing also includes a set of key observations regarding the Final Rules in comparison with other climate-related disclosure regimes as well as next steps for companies preparing to comply with the Final Rules and other climate-related disclosure regimes.
