In a recent development, an appellate court has put a pause on the Biden administration's corporate emissions disclosure rule. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted Liberty Energy's request for an administrative stay against the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) corporate climate risk and emissions disclosure rule, as stated in a court filing.

The regulation, which was announced by the SEC, mandates medium-sized and large public corporations to disclose climate change-related risks and provide data on the emissions generated directly by their businesses in financial reports. However, this rule has faced criticism and legal challenges from various quarters.

A coalition of Republican state attorneys general, led by the Sierra Club and Earthjustice, filed a legal challenge against the policy on March 6, hours after the SEC announced the final rule. While the environmental groups argue that the disclosure requirements are not aggressive enough, opponents claim that the rule represents an overreach of power by the SEC.

The final version of the rule fell short of the SEC's initial proposal from March 2022, which would have also necessitated companies to track, calculate, and disclose the emissions associated with the end use of their products and services. However, this provision was ultimately not included in the final rule.

Following the Fifth Circuit's decision to grant the administrative stay, Will Hild, the executive director of Consumers' Research, expressed satisfaction. Hild described the rule as "the largest power grab in SEC history" and deemed it illegitimate, mocking its statutory purpose. He expressed hope that the courts would fully annul the rule in the days to come.

With this temporary pause in the implementation of the corporate emissions disclosure rule, its fate now lies in the hands of the courts. As the legal challenges continue, the future of this significant environmental regulation remains uncertain.