California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed into law three climate-related disclosure bills. Under two of the laws, U.S. companies that satisfy monetary thresholds and do business in California will be required to publicly disclose their direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate-related financial risks. The third law, which applies to all companies operating in California that make claims about net zero, carbon neutrality, significant GHG reductions, or that purchase or use carbon offsets, requires public disclosures to substantiate all such claims.
This memo provides a high-level overview of the scope of these laws, including reporting obligations, reporting deadlines and penalties for noncompliance.