California lawmakers approve the nation’s most sweeping emissions disclosure rules for big business
California lawmakers have approved legislation requiring major companies to disclose a sweeping range of greenhouse gas emissions
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Major corporations from oil and gas companies to retail giants would have to disclose their direct greenhouse gas emissions as well as those that come from activities like employee business travel under legislation passed Monday by California lawmakers, the most sweeping mandate of its kind in the nation.
The legislation would require thousands of public and private businesses that operate in California and make more than $1 billion annually report their direct and indirect emissions. The goal is to increase transparency and nudge companies to evaluate how they can cut their emissions.
“We are out of time on addressing the climate crisis,” Democratic Assemblymember Chris Ward said. “This will absolutely help us take a leap forward to be able to hold ourselves accountable.”
The legislation was one of the highest profile climate bills in California this year, racking support from major companies that include Patagonia and Apple, as well as Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the United Nations convention behind the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
The bill received 41 votes in the Assembly, just enough to pass and send it back to the Senate for a final vote before it would reach Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Lawmakers backing the bill say a large number of companies in the state already disclose some of their own emissions. But the bill is a controversial proposal that many other businesses and groups in the state oppose and say will be too burdensome.
Newsom declined to share his position on the bill when asked last month. His administration’s Department of
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