California Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act

---

Ref No.

SB 253

Jurisdiction

California, USA

Key Policymaker(s)

• Senator Scott Wiener (D)

• Senator Lena Gonzalez (D)

• Senator Henry Stern (D)

Governor Newsom signed this bill into law in October 2023. The first of its kind in the US, it requires companies that do business in California with revenues exceeding $1 billion to increase corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions transparency and accountability.

Key Aspects

• Requires companies to publicly disclose their scope 1 and 2 emissions starting 2026, and scope 3 emissions from 2027.

  • Scope 1: direct GHG emissions from sources that a company owns or controls, Scope 2: emissions from the electricity a company purchases and uses, Scope 3: emissions from a company’s upstream and downstream activities

• Requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop regulations for reporting entities to disclose their emissions.

• Imposes penalties for non-filing, late filing, or other compliance failures up to $500,000 per entity per year. Until 2030, penalties for scope 3 may only be issued for non-filing.
  

Latest Update

On October 12, 2026, CARB’s regulation outlining the requirements of SB 253 and SB 261 was approved and declared effective. Reporting companies must report Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions for their prior fiscal year by November 10, 2026.

Source(s)

• “Corporate Disclosure of Climate Data Overview”

• “Climate Disclosure Update: CARB’s SB 253 Initial Regulation Takes Effect”

• “STATEMENT: California’s Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act Requires Companies to Disclose Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2026”

• “SB 253 and SB 261: California Climate Reporting Explained”

---