The California Senate passed two bills that would require climate-related disclosures from specified companies doing business in California. SB 253 (Weiner) and SB 261 (Stern) will now move to the state Assembly for consideration. It was in the Assembly that a bill similar to Senator Weiner’s SB 253 was narrowly defeated in a floor vote last session. As previously reported here and here, SB 253 would mandate the disclosure of all greenhouse gas emissions—Scopes 1, 2 and 3—and SB 261 would mandate disclosure of climate-related “risks,” relative to guidance by the Task Force on Climate-Related Disclosures.
Concurrent with the California legislative proposals, we have been tracking a proposed disclosure rule by the Securities and Exchange Commission that would apply only to publicly traded companies. As reported in the links above, the final SEC rule was expected by the end of March 2022. The final rule has yet to be released.
For questions relating to these legislative and regulatory proposals, or with regard to tracking or compliance with any climate-related regimes, contact David C. Smith.