CONTACT: Veronica Avila, veronica@fcpcommunications.com, 661-805-8462

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, the Assembly Appropriations Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 260, the Climate Corporate Accountability Act. SB 260 would be the nation’s first mandatory corporate greenhouse gas emissions disclosure requirement for the largest and most profitable U.S. corporations who have an outsized impact on climate change. This historic bill, authored by Senator Scott Wiener (SD-11) and Senator Henry Stern (SD-27), passed in the Senate in January and now will be considered by the Assembly, which has until August 31 to pass the legislation.

“Our state legislators have the opportunity to pass historic climate legislation with SB 260,” said Mary Creasman, Chief Executive Officer of California Environmental Voters. “One hundred energy corporations are responsible for 71 percent of all global industrial carbon emissions, so no serious conversation about climate action can leave out corporate disclosures and reductions. We are grateful for Senator Wiener’s vision and tenacity in this fight.”

SB 260 would require big corporations conducting business in California with over $1 billion in revenue to disclose their total carbon emissions in a way that is accessible and understandable to the public. Making this data public will close a critical information gap that exists because of the lack of mandatory reporting requirements for the largest of carbon polluters – the most profitable corporations.

“We have no time to waste: we need to curb carbon emissions drastically, or we all but guarantee a full-blown climate apocalypse,” said Senator Wiener (SD-11). “Transparency and accountability are an important piece of this puzzle – especially when it comes to corporate carbon emissions. It’s imperative we understand large corporations’ carbon footprint so we can begin to figure out how to reduce it. If SB 260 becomes law, it will be a major win for our planet.”

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California Environmental Voters (formerly the California League of Conservation Voters) believes the climate crisis is here and this moment requires transformative change. California has the policy solutions to stop climate change but lacks the political will to do it at the rate and scale that’s necessary. EnviroVoters exists to build the political power to solve the climate crisis, advance justice, and create a roadmap for global action. We organize voters, elect and train candidates, and hold lawmakers accountable for bold policy change. We won’t stop until we have resilient, healthy, thriving communities, and a democracy and economy that is just and sustainable for all. Join us at www.envirovoters.org and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. See more press releases.

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