California Gov. Newsom signs bill confirming climate disclosure start date in 2026

This summer, California Governor Newsom proposed that California delay the implementation date of its climate disclosure law by two years. The California legislature rejected that proposal and instead passed SB 219, which gave state regulators an additional six months to develop the regulation but did not delay the effective date for companies affected by the disclosure.

Governor Newsom has now capitulated to the Legislature by signing their bill that maintains the original effective dates of the Climate Disclosure Act. Specifically, companies with sales of more than $500 million must report climate-related risks in 2026, and companies with sales of more than $1 billion must also report Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions in 2026 and 2027 disclose Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions. Because this regulation not only requires disclosure of Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, but also applies to private companies doing business in California (not just public companies), it is arguably more intrusive than the SEC's climate disclosure rules.

However, this regulation has been challenged in court by the US Chamber of Commerce and it is uncertain whether it will withstand this legal attack. So the effective date of California's climate disclosure law may ultimately not matter, as it could be overturned by the courts before it is implemented. Nonetheless, the fact that the original disclosure date was retained and that Governor Newsom deferred to the California legislature on the matter – as he did when he signed the original law despite his publicly expressed doubts – is certainly significant.

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he has signed a new bill requiring large companies doing business in the state to disclose their value chain emissions and report on climate-related financial risks, replacing one originally proposed Maintain the start date for the start of reporting. although concerns have previously been raised about the companies' ability to meet the deadline.

The new law applies to companies doing business in California and would effectively impose a climate reporting requirement for most large companies in the US

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