TheCorporateCounsel.net

Yesterday, the SEC’s climate disclosure rules made it into the Federal Register. That means that the rules will be effective on May 28th (although compliance with the rules will not be required until the various dates specified in the rules for different types of information and issuers). The timing of this publication diminishes the risk that any change in Presidential Administration would result in the undoing of the rules. Rather, as Dave blogged last week and discussed in our webcast earlier this week, a resolution under the Congressional Review Act would be going to President Biden for review (and likely would be vetoed).

Of course, as everyone knows, this does not mean the rule is out of the woods. This Cooley blog details the latest twists & turns in the 8th Circuit litigation, which involve petitioners requesting a new administrative stay and the SEC submitting a request that the stay be denied, as well as reporting that a new petition was submitted in the 5th Circuit after the consolidation order was issued.

Companies, meanwhile, are gearing up for compliance. I shared a redline of the rule text in yesterday’s blog. I’ve now been alerted to a streamlined alternative that weighs in at a breezy 63 pages (it strips out the intro language for each rule). It also provides coloring for each type of edit – e.g., red for deletion, blue for addition, green for movement. The redline is an appendix to Holland & Knight’s client alert on the new rules. At this stage, we are all continuing to get our arms (and minds) wrapped around the new requirements, and you really cannot have too many resources to help with that. We are continuing to post memos in our “Climate Change” Practice Area!

– Liz Dunshee