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US Chamber of Commerce asked Supreme Court Friday to prevent new California The laws would require thousands of companies to report emissions and climate-risk information.
The laws are the most sweeping of their kind in the country, and a group of business groups argued in an emergency appeal that they violate free speech rights.
The measures were signed by a Democratic governor. Gavin Newsom in 2023, and further reporting requirements are expected to begin early next year.
Lower courts have so far refused to block the laws, which the state says would increase transparency and encourage companies to assess how they can cut their emissions.
The Chamber of Commerce asked judges to put the laws on hold while the lawsuits continue.
Requires businesses that earn more than $1 billion per year and operate in California to annually report their direct and indirect carbon emissions starting in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
This includes planet-warming pollution caused directly by burning fossil fuels, as well as emissions from activities such as delivering products from warehouses to stores and employee business travel. The Chamber of Commerce estimates it would affect about 5,000 companies, although state air regulators say it would apply to about 2,600.
The second law requires companies that make more than $500,000 a year to disclose biennially how climate change could harm them financially. The State Air Resources Board estimates that more than 4,100 companies will have to comply.
The companies argued, “Without this Court’s immediate intervention, California’s unconstitutional efforts to skew public debate through forced speech will take effect and cause irreparable harm to thousands of companies across the country.”
Companies that fail to publish may be subject to civil penalties. ExxonMobil also challenged the laws in a lawsuit filed last month.
The state has argued that the laws do not violate the First Amendment because commercial speech is not protected in the same way under the Constitution.
In 2023, Newsom called the emissions-disclosure law an important policy and the state’s “bold response to the climate crisis, turning information transparency into climate action.” environmental groups cerus has said the information will help people decide whether to support businesses.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved a rule last year requiring some public companies to report their greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, but the agency put the regulation on hold amid litigation.
The conservative-majority Supreme Court has turned a skeptical eye on some environmental regulations in recent years, including a landmark decision that limited it. Environmental Protection Agencythe right to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in 2022, and another that blocked the agency’s air-pollution-fighting “good neighbor” rule.
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Austin reported from Sacramento.