January 31, 2023
Source: KCRA Photo / Image Source: Unsplash, SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Some California state lawmakers want corporations to be held accountable when it comes to the state's clean air goals and efforts to reduce the effects of climate change.
Three bills were resurrected that fell short last legislative session they say would improve transparency, standardize disclosures, align public investments with climate goals and raise the bar on corporate action to address the climate crisis.
"Making sure our state and businesses community are putting our money where all of our mouths are, which is in a direction of climate action," said Scott Wiener from San Francisco.
Wiener reintroduced a measure that would require corporations that make more than $1 billion in revenue and that do business in California to start publicly disclosing their carbon emissions by 2026, including supply chain information, which lawmakers note make up the majority of a corporation's emissions.
Another measure was reintroduced to divest money from the state teachers' and state public employees' retirement systems away from the fossil fuels industry. Gonzalez said that amounts to about $11 billion dollars. "We need to ensure this is not being invested in our detriment," Gonzalez said. "We have no more time to waste."
Calabasas, reintroduced a bill that would require companies in California to provide climate-related risk financial disclosures. Advocates said the legislation is modeled after rules used by hundreds of major financial institutions, as well as federal securities risk disclosures that focus on financial risk related to the climate crisis. Lawmakers said the measure would protect consumers that stand to lose billions of dollars if financial institutions fail to account for new risks associated with climate change. “It makes no sense for a corporation to be hiding their climate risks – like exposure to increased drought, wildfires, and extreme weather — from their shareholders or their consumers,” Stern said.
"The private sector is committed to working to reduce factors that impact climate change," said Jennifer Barrera. "However, it is critical that as policies are contemplated, there is an emphasis on balancing unnecessary costs and regulatory hurdles against measurable benefits. We look forward to working with policymakers to enact meaningful policies that protect jobs, encourage innovation and maintain growth.”
"I'm hopeful this year with a new makeup in the Assembly, with more in our coalition and with more emphasis on this crisis that we can actually get this done," Gonzalez said.
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