The US Chamber of Commerce has asked the Supreme Court to temporarily stop new climate laws in California. These laws would soon require thousands of companies’ report of their emissions and climate-related risks. They are considered the strongest rules of their kind in the country. Business groups filed an emergency appeal, saying the laws violate their free-speech rights.
The laws were approved in 2023 by Governor Gavin Newsom, and reporting is supposed to begin early next year. Lower courts have not blocked the laws, and the state argues that they will increase transparency and help companies understand how to reduce their emissions.
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The Chamber of Commerce wants the Supreme Court to pause these laws while legal challenges continue. One of the laws requires companies earning more than $1 billion a year in California to report their direct and indirect carbon emissions starting in 2026 and 2027. This includes pollution from burning fossil fuels, product transportation, and employee travel. The Chamber says around 5,000 companies will be affected, but state regulators estimate closer to 2,600.
Another law requires companies making more than $500 million a year to report every two years on how climate change could financially impact them. According to the state Air Resources Board, about 4,100 companies will need to follow this rule.
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As per reports of AP, the companies argued, “Without this Court’s immediate intervention, California’s unconstitutional efforts to slant public debate through compelled speech will take effect and inflict irreparable harm on thousands of companies across the country.”
The state says the laws do not violate the First Amendment because commercial speech has different protections.
The US SEC had approved a similar rule for public companies last year, but paused it due to lawsuits.
