SEC Climate Disclosure Rule Might Be Vacated Entirely, Says Hawke

Securities Enforcement Litigation partner Daniel Hawke was recently quoted in the Sustainable Views article, “Question mark over US climate disclosure rule as SEC puts it on pause,” which discusses the future of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) new climate-related disclosure rules. The agency recently paused the implementation of the rules pending challenges by numerous groups, which have been consolidated into the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

“It’s always hard to speculate about what a court might do, but it would not be surprising if they vacated the rule entirely,” Hawke told Sustainable Views. “Almost every rule the SEC has ever promulgated has ultimately been challenged. The fact that it’s happening earlier rather than later is a testament to the controversy around it.” He added that “for a big rule that had as much attention as this one did, went through as much review and comment – it is a bit unusual that the Commission would stay the rule so quickly after these early challenges.”

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