[1/2]Aerial view of Highway 101 and the San Francisco skyline in San Francisco, California, U.S., October 28, 2021. Picture taken October 28, 2021. Portal/Carlos Barriaof ACQUINS LICENSE
NEW YORK, Sept 17 (Portal) – California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Sunday he would sign a law that would require large companies to disclose their carbon footprint, potentially leaving the state behind federal regulators in dealing with it could be ahead of companies’ climate risks.
The state Senate last week approved the bill requiring disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions, giving Newsom the final say.
Asked at the start of Climate Week in New York, a week of events coinciding with the U.N. General Assembly, whether he would sign the bill, Newsom replied: “Of course I will sign this bill.”
“We cleaned up some small wording,” he added, without giving details.
Newsom acknowledged that there has been “a lot of opposition” to the bill, which would require companies that make more than $1 billion a year and operate in the state to measure emissions categories, including a complex category related to emissions with supply chains and end consumers, the so-called “emissions category”. Scope 3.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has yet to issue its own guidance.
Multinational companies such as Apple (AAPL.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) have expressed support for the bill, but the California Chamber of Commerce said it would increase costs and red tape for businesses.
Policies to manage environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors have caused controversy among U.S. politicians in recent years. Lawyers said the new California legislation could still be challenged in court.
Last week, California sued major oil companies, saying they downplayed the risks posed by fossil fuels.
Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Diane Craft
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