Acting Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Mark Uyeda published a statement regarding the litigation surrounding the SEC rule, The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.
The Statement raises the concerns expressed about the rule in his own and in SEC Commissioner Pierce’s previous statements about the rule and notes,
“These views, the recent change in the composition of the Commission, and the recent Presidential Memorandum regarding a Regulatory Freeze, bear on the conduct of this litigation. I believe that the Court and the parties should be notified of these changes.
Therefore, I have directed the Commission staff to notify the Court of the changed circumstances and request that the Court not schedule the case for argument to provide time for the Commission to deliberate and determine the appropriate next steps in these cases. The Commission will promptly notify the Court of its determination about its positions in the litigation.”
SEC Commissioner Crenshaw subsequently published a statement expressed disagreement with the action taken by the acting Chairman, noting,
“I agree wholeheartedly with the acting Chairman that agencies and those who lead them must act within the boundaries of constitutional and statutory authority. Nonetheless, I dispute with equal vigor the notion that the agency acted outside of its remit. It did not. The only things that have changed since the Rule was passed have been matters of politics and not substance. As such, I disagree with the position unilaterally taken today by the acting Chairman.”
