--- title: The Fight Over the New SEC Climate Rule Is Just Beginning description: The SEC finalized a rule requiring companies to disclose emissions and climate risks that pose “material” challenges to the company. canonical: https://time.com/6898732/sec-climate-rule-fight/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-03-08T14:37:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T17:15:24.403Z article:section: Climate og:title: The Fight Over the New SEC Climate Rule Is Just Beginning og:description: Sooner or later, large companies are bound to face climate disclosure rules. og:url: https://time.com/6898732/sec-climate-rule-fight/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb8678c502848dbc2/698a493786f68eb56c6f3bf0/sec-logo-climate-rule.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Securities And Exchange Commission Holds Open Meeting og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Fight Over the New SEC Climate Rule Is Just Beginning twitter:description: Sooner or later, large companies are bound to face climate disclosure rules. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb8678c502848dbc2/698a493786f68eb56c6f3bf0/sec-logo-climate-rule.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The SEC Released a New Climate Rule. The Fight Is Just Beginning > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Mar 8, 2024 2:37 PM UTC  The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) headquarters in Washington, DC. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) headquarters in Washington, DC. Samuel Corum/Bloomberg—Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Mar 8, 2024 2:37 PM UTC (_To get this story in your inbox, subscribe to the TIME CO2 Leadership Report newsletter_ [_here_](https://www.time.com/co2-newsletter)_._) For the past two years, [proposed climate disclosure rules](https://time.com/6159301/sec-climate-rules-corporate-america) from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have occupied a central place in the conversation around business and climate. Climate advocates have pushed the agency to adopt the most stringent rules possible. Many business groups (though not all of them) have argued the potential regulation is too costly. I’ve covered the issue [multiple](https://time.com/6321163/corporate-climate-disclosure-europe-sec-california/) [times](https://time.com/6159301/sec-climate-rules-corporate-america) in this newsletter. On Wednesday, the SEC at last moved forward, voting to finalize a rule that would require some publicly traded companies to disclose emissions and climate risks when they pose “material” challenges to a company’s business. While climate advocates praised it as an important step forward, the final rule omitted many of the most stringent requirements included in the SEC’s first proposal. Gone are the requirements that companies disclose what are known as scope three emissions—or emissions that come from the supply chain or the end use of a company’s products. Critics had pointed out that such data is complicated and hard to collect. Despite being termed a “final rule,” the fight over the U.S. approach to climate disclosure is in many ways just beginning. A case before the U.S. Supreme Court threatens to erode the authority of federal agencies—a move that could directly hinder the SEC’s climate disclosure rule. And no matter the outcome in that case, corporate lobbies and conservative states are widely expected to sue, potentially delaying or even chipping away at it. In that environment, it would be easy for companies to sit back and wait to see how the dynamic shakes out before investing resources in compliance. But as I’ve written before, the SEC rule is just one data point in a global picture that is trending toward climate disclosure. Countries from the United Kingdom to Singapore are pursuing their own regimes. And the European Union’s climate disclosure regulations will be particularly relevant for many U.S. companies. The rules took effect this year and will expand to thousands of U.S. companies that do business in the bloc in 2025\. They are also far more stringent than the SEC’s. And then there’s California. The state is pursuing its own disclosure regime, which other states could soon replicate. With all that in mind, a case remains to get ahead of the curve. 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