Further to last week’s post, pursuant to its discretionary authority, the SEC issued an Order staying the new climate disclosure rules pending completion of judicial review in the Eighth Circuit, which injects significant uncertainty into the compliance preparation process for those companies subject to the rules.
While projections and reactions from outside advisors in light of the stay vary from “pencils down” to “generally stay the course,” and everything in between, many reference the SEC’s 2010 disclosure guidance, which the SEC noted in its Order (FN 8) and has referenced in its comment letters to companies following its issuance of a sample comment letter in September 2021, as well as other jurisdictional disclosure mandates (imposed by, e.g., the EU and California (whose climate disclosure laws are also being challenged)), as bases for remaining focused on preparing thoughtful, accurate, complete, and well-supported climate-related disclosure.
Members interested in receiving Corp Fin’s comment letter exchanges with companies following its release of the sample letter should contact Randi Morrison.
This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!