U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II denied a motion from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other plaintiffs seeking a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of SB253 and SB261, two California laws that require corporations to report their Scopes 1, 2, and 3 emissions. The laws are set to go into effect in 2026 and 2027, respectively.

Two California laws – SB253, “Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act” and SB261, “Greenhouse gases: climate-related financial risk” – “require companies with revenues greater than $1 billion that do business in California to report annually on their emissions from all scopes, including direct emissions (Scope 1), emissions from purchase and use of electricity (Scope 2), and indirect emissions, including those associated with supply chains, business travel, employee commuting, procurement, waste, and water usage (Scope 3).”

A trial date in the Chamber of Commerce’s ongoing challenge of the two laws is scheduled for 2026. The Chamber of Commerce alleges the laws violate the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, Supremacy Clause, and the First Amendment.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed SB 19 into law in 2024, codifying two regulations that Newsom approved in 2023. Click here for more on the California emissions reporting laws.

President George W. Bush (R) nominated Wright to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in 2007.

Ballotpedia tracks support for and opposition to the environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing movement. To learn more about arguments for, against, and about ESG, click here. For more information on reform proposals related to ESG policy, click here.

Read more: Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)