California took a big step last fall when lawmakers passed a pair of laws requiring large companies doing business in the state to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related risks, shedding light on their role in promoting the climate crisis.
But now that the time has come for California Air Resources Board experts to craft disclosure rules, there are some worrying hurdles that could allow polluters to keep their climate impacts hidden for years to come.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups have sued to block the laws, arguing they go too far and violate First Amendment free speech rights by forcing companies to publish information on the “politically fraught” topic. ” of climate change.
The legal action is not a surprise. What is unexpected, however, is the resistance from Governor Gavin Newsom, who signed the bill into law in October. In his budget proposal for next year, he called for temporarily suspending spending on most of the newly signed laws, including funding to implement disclosure rules. And his office has called for “cleanup” language that could impose on big companies the kind of watered-down requirements they've been pushing for all along.
California was the first state in the nation to pass laws requiring standardized public reporting from oil companies, banks and other industries that will hold them accountable to their climate commitments, eliminate corporate greenwashing and encourage more sustainable practices. Senate Bill 253 requires companies with revenues exceeding $1 billion a year to publicly disclose their annual greenhouse gas emissions. SB 261 requires corporations with revenues over $500 million to disclose their climate-related financial risks.
Of course, the oil and gas industry, the banking sector and other commercial interests do not want the public and investors to know all of their carbon footprints and climate risks.
It appears that industry pressure has influenced Newsom. When he announced that he would sign the disclosure bills on stage at a weather event last fall, added that it was “with a modest reservation. We have some cleanliness in a small language.”
It is not unusual for new laws to be refined after their approval. However, concerns raised in Newsom's subsequent statement signature messages They don't seem minor: He said implementation timelines were likely “unworkable,” that the emissions reporting protocol was problematic, and that he was concerned about the financial impacts on businesses. His office said this week that the administration is working with lawmakers on amendments to address those issues, but did not respond to questions about what specific changes the governor wants.
State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), author of SB 253, said he has no problem with the law's technical fixes, but he won't support substantive changes or delays. Although the legislation does not require companies to change their environmental practices, he said the oil industry, chambers of commerce and banks “are squealing like trapped pigs because they don't want the public and investors to know how dirty they are.”
California has a key role right now as a bulwark against a nationwide pressure campaign by fossil fuel companies, financial firms and other business interests to resist transparency about their role in causing climate change. That includes the Republican-led movement restricting the use of environmental, social and governance criteria in investment decisions and various disinformation operations by the fossil fuel industry to confuse the public about the causes and solutions to climate change. The Golden State should be a steadfast example for other states, including New York and Illinois, that are considering similar laws.
This effort is even more important now that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has eliminated The ambitious emissions reporting requirements of the corporate climate risk disclosure rules it approved Wednesday for publicly traded companies.
The California legislation goes beyond the SEC proposal by applying to private companies and requiring them to quantify the full scope of their emissions, from their supply chains to customers' use of their products.
Weakening these laws would only benefit big polluters, including the powerful oil companies that Newsom has railed against in recent years and promised to hold accountable. Corporations like ExxonMobil and Chevron, which have spread climate denial and misinformation for decades and have the most to lose if the public learns the true extent of their ongoing damage to the planet.
California leaders should recognize that, as urgent as it is to pass new laws to fight climate change, it is equally important to enforce them. They should quickly allocate funds to begin implementing these laws and reject any significant changes that weaken them.
