Tag: California Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act

Corporate GovernanceESGLitigation

Is a delay in the cards for California’s climate accountability laws? [SideBar updated 7/27]

You might recall that, in 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two bills related to climate disclosure: Senate Bill 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, and SB261, Greenhouse gases: climate-related financial risk. SB 253 mandates disclosure of GHG emissions data—Scopes 1, 2 and 3—by all U.S. business entities (public or private) with total annual revenues in excess of a billion dollars that “do business in California.” SB 253 has been estimated to apply to about 5,300 companies. SB 253 requires disclosure regarding Scopes 1 and 2 GHG emissions beginning in 2026, with Scope 3 (upstream and downstream emissions in a company’s value chain) disclosure in 2027. SB 261, with a lower reporting threshold of total annual revenues in excess of $500 million, requires subject companies to prepare reports disclosing their climate-related financial risk in accordance with the TCFD framework and describing their measures adopted to reduce and adapt to that risk. SB 261 has been estimated to apply to over 10,000 companies. SB 261 requires that preparation and public posting on the company’s own website commence on or before January 1, 2026, and continue biennially thereafter. Notably, the laws exceed the requirements of the SEC’s climate disclosure regulations because, among other things, one of the laws covers Scope 3 emissions, and they both apply to both public and private companies that meet the applicable size tests. (For more information about these two laws, see this PubCo post.) Interestingly, even when Newsom signed the bills, he raised a number of questions. (See this PubCo post.) Specifically, on SB 253, Newsom said “the implementation deadlines in this bill are likely infeasible, and the reporting protocol specified could result in inconsistent reporting across businesses subject to the measure. I am directing my Administration to work with the bill’s author and the Legislature next year to address these issues. Additionally, I am concerned about the overall financial impact of this bill on businesses, so I am instructing CARB to closely monitor the cost impact as it implements this new bill and to make recommendations to streamline the program.” Similarly, on SB261, Newsom said that “the implementation deadlines fall short in providing the California Air Resources Board (CARB) with sufficient time to adequately carry out the requirements in this bill,” and made a similar comment about the overall financial impact of the bill on businesses. So it was fairly predictable that something of a do-over was in the cards. Now, as reported here and here by Politico, Newsom has proposed a delay in the compliance dates for each bill until 2028. A spokesperson for Newsom “said the proposal ‘addresses concerns’ about cost, timeline and the ‘entirely new and significant workload for the state and the entities covered by these new requirements.’”

/ July 15, 2024
Corporate GovernanceESG

California Governor Newsom confirms will sign major climate bills

The suspense is over. The AP is reporting that California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Sunday that he “plans to sign into law a pair of climate-focused bills intended to force major corporations to be more transparent about greenhouse gas emissions and the financial risks stemming from global warming.” Those bills are Senate Bill 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act,  and SB261, Greenhouse gases: climate-related financial risk. SB 253 would mandate disclosure of GHG emissions data—Scopes 1, 2 and 3—by all U.S. business entities (public or private) with total annual revenues in excess of a billion dollars that “do business in California.” SB 253 has been estimated to apply to about 5,300 companies. SB 261, with a lower reporting threshold of total annual revenues in excess of $500 million, would require subject companies to prepare reports disclosing their climate-related financial risk, in accordance with TCFD framework, and describing their measures adopted to reduce and adapt to that risk.  SB 261 has been estimated to apply to over 10,000 companies. For more information about these two bills, see this PubCo post.

/ September 18, 2023
Corporate GovernanceESGSecurities

California climate bills head to Governor— will he sign? [reposted]

Two far-reaching California climate bills, together the “Climate Accountability Package,” have passed in the California legislature and are headed to Governor Gavin Newsom for a final decision. If signed into law, Senate Bill 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, would mandate disclosure of GHG emissions data—Scopes 1, 2 and 3—by all U.S. business entities (public or private) with total annual revenues in excess of a billion dollars that “do business in California.” SB 253 has been estimated to apply to about 5,300 companies. Final amendments to the companion bill, SB261, Greenhouse gases: climate-related financial risk, passed in the California legislature yesterday.  SB 261, with a lower reporting threshold of total annual revenues in excess of $500 million, would require subject companies to prepare reports disclosing their climate-related financial risk, in accordance with TCFD framework, and describing their measures adopted to reduce and adapt to that risk.  SB 261 has been estimated to apply to over 10,000 companies. While there has been substantial opposition to these bills, Bloomberg has reported that “[c]orporate support for the legislation has been growing this year. More than a dozen companies have submitted a letter to lawmakers in support of SB 253” and another dozen wrote in support of SB 261, including, in both cases, some very familiar names. Will the Governor sign these bills into law? Newsom has not yet weighed in. According to the NYT, historically, Newsom “has championed aggressive new climate measures,” but, on SB 253, he has been “uncharacteristically quiet,” perhaps given that his “administration’s finance department issued an analysis in July that opposed the emissions reporting legislation.” Newsom has until October 14 to sign or veto the bills. If he does neither, the measures will become law automatically. 

/ September 14, 2023
Corporate GovernanceESGLitigation

Is California going to set the gold standard on climate disclosure?

Are you fretting about when (or if) the SEC is going to take action on its climate disclosure proposal and what exactly the SEC has in store for public companies in its final regulations?  Consider this: California might just beat the SEC to the punch.  You might remember that, in 2021, a California State Senator introduced the Climate Corporate Accountability Act, which failed last year after sailing through one chamber of the legislature but coming up one vote shy in the second (see this PubCo post).  But that bill was re-introduced this year as the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253) and packaged with other bills, notably  SB 261, Greenhouse gases: climate-related financial risk, into California’s Climate Accountability Package, a “suite of bills,” according to  the press release, “that work together to improve transparency, standardize disclosures, align public investments with climate goals, and raise the bar on corporate action to address the climate crisis. At a time when rising anti-science sentiment is driving strong pushback against responsible business practices like risk disclosure and ESG investing,” the press release continued, “these bills leverage the power of California’s market to continue the state’s long tradition of setting the gold standard on environmental protection for the nation and the world.” (See this PubCo post.) If signed into law this time, SB 253 would mandate disclosure of GHG emissions data—Scopes 1, 2 and 3—by all U.S. business entities with total annual revenues in excess of a billion dollars that “do business in California.” SB 261, with a lower reporting threshold of $500 million, would require subject companies to prepare reports disclosing their climate-related financial risk, in accordance with TCFD framework, and describe their measures adopted to reduce and adapt to that risk. If signed into law, according to Bloomberg,  SB 253 would apply to over 5,300 companies and SB 261 would apply to over 10,000 companies. But, given their history, what makes anyone think these bills will be signed into law this time? As Politico observes, “[w]hen do you know a bill might have legs? When there’s a bit of horse-trading going on.”  And that’s apparently just what’s been happening recently with these bills.

/ August 21, 2023
Accounting and AuditingCorporate GovernanceCorporate law

Be on the alert for California’s Climate Corporate Data Accountability bill

If you’re waiting with bated breath to find out what the SEC has in store for public companies in its final version of its climate disclosure regulations (see this PubCo post, this PubCo post and this PubCo post), you might also want to take a look at this California bill—the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253)—previously known as the Climate Corporate Accountability Act when it went belly up last year after sailing through one chamber of the legislature but coming up shy in the second (see this PubCo post).  In fact, this year, the press release announces, the bill is part of California’s Climate Accountability Package, a “suite of bills that work together to improve transparency, standardize disclosures, align public investments with climate goals, and raise the bar on corporate action to address the climate crisis. At a time when rising anti-science sentiment is driving strong pushback against responsible business practices like risk disclosure and ESG investing,” the press release continues, “these bills leverage the power of California’s market to continue the state’s long tradition of setting the gold standard on environmental protection for the nation and the world.” If signed into law this time, the bill, which was introduced at the end of January and has a hearing scheduled in March, would mandate disclosure of GHG emissions data—Scopes 1, 2 and 3—by all U.S. business entities with total annual revenues in excess of a billion dollars that “do business in California.” The bill’s mandate would exceed, in several key respects, the requirements in the current SEC climate proposal.  Whether this new bill will face the same fate as its predecessor remains to be seen.

/ March 2, 2023