California Pushes First SB 253 Emissions Reports to November 10 and Eases First-Year Enforcement

The California Air Resources Board has extended the first reporting deadline under the state's corporate climate disclosure law, SB 253, by three months to November 10, 2026, from the original date of August 10. CARB published guidance for the 2026 reporting cycle in September and opened an optional online intake platform for companies to submit their data, according to the agency and law firm summaries. SB 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, signed in 2023, requires companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue that do business in California to report their greenhouse gas emissions.

The extension and flexibility reflect the short time between the adoption of CARB's implementing regulations and the original deadline, and requests from businesses for more time to prepare. The revenue threshold of $1 billion captures several thousand companies, including many headquartered outside California. A companion law, SB 261, requires companies with more than $500 million in revenue to publish reports on climate-related financial risks. The US Chamber of Commerce and other business groups sued to block both laws, arguing that they violate the First Amendment by compelling speech and that they intrude on federal authority over interstate commerce.

At the federal level, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted a climate disclosure rule in 2024 but stopped defending it in court in 2025, leaving state laws and international standards as the main sources of mandatory climate reporting for US companies. For energy companies, Scope 1 reporting covers emissions from their own operations, such as power plants, refineries, pipelines and production facilities. For technology companies, Scope 2 reporting covers the electricity used by data centers and offices.

Large multinational companies also face reporting under the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, although its scope was narrowed in late 2025 to companies with more than 1,000 employees and €450 million in turnover. The EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, in place since 2010, collects emissions data from more than 8,000 large facilities, including power plants, refineries and oil and gas operations.