California Notifies Companies of November 10 Greenhouse Gas Reporting Deadline & Fee Requirements

Key Takeaways

• November Reporting Deadline: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has notified potentially covered companies that their first Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas disclosures are due November 10, 2026, according to its October notice.
• Applicability Requirements: Senate Bill 253 applies to U.S.-formed business entities with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion that do business in California.
• First-Year Reporting Accommodation: Companies that neither possessed nor were collecting Scope 1 or Scope 2 emissions information on or before December 5, 2024, may submit a statement explaining why they are not providing emissions data.
• Mandatory Fee Obligations: All entities meeting the regulatory criteria must pay program fees, including those eligible for the first-year reporting accommodation.

Deep Dive

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is contacting companies that may be subject to the state's corporate greenhouse gas reporting law, warning that their first emissions disclosures are due November 10, 2026, and that qualifying businesses must pay program fees even if they are unable to submit emissions data under a first-year reporting provision.

In notices issued in October, the agency is reaching out to organizations that may fall under Senate Bill 253, which requires U.S.-formed businesses with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion that do business in California to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions.

CARB describes the correspondence as a courtesy. Receiving a notice does not establish that a company is covered by the law, and organizations that determine they fall outside its scope need take no further action.

For those that qualify, the first reporting year brings a narrower set of requirements than the law will eventually impose. Companies must address Scope 1 emissions from sources they own or control and Scope 2 emissions associated with purchased electricity and other energy. The legislation also provides for Scope 3 reporting in subsequent years, extending disclosure requirements to indirect emissions across a company's value chain.

The October notice sets out which fiscal year companies must use. Businesses whose fiscal years end between January 1 and February 1, 2026, inclusive, must report fiscal year 2026 data. All other covered entities must submit fiscal year 2025 figures.

The more consequential provision for companies without established emissions inventories concerns information they possessed nearly two years before the first reporting deadline.

Under Title 17, Section 96076(b), of the California Code of Regulations, reporting entities may submit Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions that could be determined from information already in their possession or being collected as of December 5, 2024.

Companies that neither possessed the relevant emissions information nor were collecting it on or before that date may instead submit a statement on company letterhead explaining that they are not filing an emissions report for that reason.

The accommodation recognizes the limits of information available to companies when California began implementing the law. Its terms are specific, however. A company must satisfy the conditions concerning its information as of December 5, 2024, to use the alternative submission.

Nor does the provision excuse a covered company from the program's fees.

CARB states that all entities meeting the regulatory criteria will be assessed a fee, regardless of whether they submit emissions figures or qualify to provide a statement in their place. Invoices will be sent by December 10, 2026, with payment due within 60 calendar days of the invoice notice date.

The October correspondence does not identify the amount each company will owe.

CARB is encouraging businesses to submit their disclosures through its online Climate Disclosure intake platform, which also allows them to provide billing information for fee invoices. The agency has made additional reporting guidance and regulatory materials available through its website.

For companies receiving the notices, the first question is whether their revenue and California business activities bring them within the law. Those that qualify must then establish the appropriate reporting period and determine what emissions information was available or being collected by the December 2024 cutoff.

The answer may affect what they are required to submit in November. It does not change the fee obligation CARB says applies to every entity meeting the program's criteria.

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