Acting U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Mark Uyeda announced today that he would request that legal proceedings against the SEC’s new climate disclosure rule be postponed pending “next steps” regarding the rule, which he called “deeply flawed” and said “could inflict significant harm on the capital markets and our economy.”

Uyeda was appointed Acting Chair after the resignation of prior Chair Gary Gensler in January, following the election of Donald Trump. Trump’s nominee for SEC Chair, Paul Atkins, still awaiting confirmation, has also opposed the climate reporting rule.

Under Gensler, the SEC announced the release and adoption of the new rules in March 2024, establishing for the first time requirements for public companies in the U.S. to provide disclosure on climate risks facing their businesses, plans to address those risks, the financial impact of severe weather events, and, in some cases, greenhouse gas emissions originating from their operations.

Uyeda and fellow Commissioner Hester Peirce voted against the rule, arguing that existing disclosure rules were sufficient, and that by addressing climate change issues, the rule exceeded the SEC’s mandate.

The rule faced a series of legal challenges immediately following its release, with nine court petitions filed within 10 days, including a lawsuit against the rule filed by 25 Republican state attorneys general, led by Iowa AG Brenna Bird, and another appeals court motion requesting a stay of the rules led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The petitions were subsequently consolidated in the Eighth Circuit court, and the SEC announced in April that it would pause the implementation of the climate disclosure rule pending a review of the legal petitions, but noting that it planned to “continue vigorously defending” the new disclosure requirements.

In August, the SEC launched its defense of the rule in court, arguing that the proposed disclosures in the rule provide “information directly relevant to the value of investments,” and that it is within the Commission’s authority to mandate climate risk disclosures.

In his new statement, however, Uyeda said that the SEC’s submissions to the court defending the climate reporting rule “do not reflect my views,” adding that “I continue to question the statutory authority of the Commission to adopt the Rule, the need for the Rule, and the evaluation of costs and benefits,” as well as the Commission’s procedures in adopting the rule.

Given the Acting Chair’s views, and “the recent change in the composition of the Commission,” Uyeda said that he has directed the Commission staff to “notify the Court of the changed circumstances,” asking for time to “deliberate and determine the appropriate next steps.”