A groundbreaking California law is expected to prevail upon large companies doing business in the state – including major global corporations – to disclose their planet-heating carbon emissions.
The measure, signed into law by the governor, Gavin Newsom will be the nation’s first of its kind, serving as a blueprint for national climate accountability and comes as federal regulators have dragged their feet on crafting similar rules, which could be finalized this month.
According to reports, SB 253 will require California regulators to create rules by 2025 for public and private companies whose annual revenues exceed $1bn. That affects about 5,300 corporations, including Chevron, Wells Fargo, Amazon and Apple.
By 2026, those companies will have to publicly disclose how much carbon is produced by their operations and electricity use, according to reports. Critically, by 2027, they will also be required to report emissions generated by their supply chains and customers, known as “scope 3” emissions, which are highly controversial among business interests, including the fossil fuel industry.
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Reports further show that a companion bill passed by the state’s legislature, SB-261, would additionally require businesses with more than $500m in yearly revenue to disclose their climate-related financial risks beginning in 2026, or face annual penalties.
Both bills will make new data public beyond California’s borders, which supporters say could be game-changing.
“The disclosure requirements would really pull back the curtain on the biggest climate destroyers in the oil industry and make it harder to greenwash,” said Hollin Kretzmann, a senior attorney at the environmental advocacy group Center for Biological Diversity, which supported the bills.
The measures come as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finalizes a long-awaited, similar federal mandate. Last year, the agency proposed regulations that would likewise require publicly traded companies to notify investors of their emissions – including scope 3 emissions – and climate-related risks.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
