California would require state contractors to disclose carbon emissions under a bill introduced Tuesday that’s the first of its kind.
“California is the fifth-largest economy in the world, and we can’t tackle climate change without a clear picture of our own supply chain’s impact on the environment,” Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D), the bill’s lead sponsor, said in a statement. “This bill is a common sense approach to climate transparency so that we can do better by our planet.”
Under the measure, companies with $5 million or more in state contracts — currently about 500 companies — would be required to disclose multiple levels of carbon emissions starting in 2027.
Contractors with more than $25 million in state contract obligations would have to annually disclose their direct emissions from a company’s facilities, which are known as Scope 1 emissions; emissions generated as a result of the company’s electricity needs, known as Scope 2; and all other indirect emissions, known as Scope 3. Those contractors would also have to disclose their climate-related financial risk.
Contractors with between $5 million and $25 million in state contract obligations would be mandated to make annual disclosures of only their Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.
If enacted, California would be the first state to require the reporting for state contractors, Blakespear said.
Lawmakers in 2023 enacted legislation sponsored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D) that requires companies with annual revenues over $1 billion to annually report all three levels of greenhouse gas emissions. That bill goes into effect next year.
The Blakespear legislation also comes after another 2023 measure, sponsored by Sen. Henry Stern (D), that requires companies with more than $500 million in annual revenue to regularly prepare climate-related financial risk reports. Companies must begin reporting in January.
Read more: Calif. enacts climate reporting legislation
Both Wiener and Stern are cosponsors. Other supporters include the environmental groups Carbon Accountability and Ceres Accelerator.
Climate disclosure legislation has emerged in other states this session, including New York, where Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D) introduced a measure similar to Wiener’s bill. Sen. James Sanders (D) introduced a climate risk disclosure measure.
Other states where there are pending climate disclosure bills include New Jersey and Illinois.