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The California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) will conduct a public hearing at the time and place noted below to consider approving for adoption the proposed Climate Data and Financial Risk Reporting Fee Regulation.
Date: February 26, 2026
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Location: California Environmental Protection Agency
California Air Resources Board | Byron Sher Auditorium
1001 I Street Sacramento, California 95814
This item will be considered at a meeting of the Board, which will commence at 9:00 a.m., February 26, 2026, and may continue at 9:00 a.m., on February 27, 2026. Please consult the agenda for the hearing, which will be available at least ten days before the February 26, 2026, Board Meeting, for important details, including the day on which this item will be considered and how the public can participate via Zoom if they choose to be remote.
Background
In 2023, Governor Newsom signed into law two pieces of legislation: the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (Senate Bill (SB) 253, Wiener, Stats. 2023, ch. 382; codified in Health & Safety Code section 38532), and the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act (SB 261, Stern, Stats. 2023, ch. 383; codified in Health and Safety Code section 38533). In 2024, SB 219 (Wiener, Stats. 2024, ch. 766; codified in Health and Safety Code sections 38532 and 38533) amended both of these statutes, extending certain deadlines and making other administrative modifications. The laws aim to protect California stakeholders by mandating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting and climate-related financial risk reporting by large U.S.-based entities that do business in California. Together, these laws encourage alignment with existing, widely recognized frameworks, and aim to ensure that accurate, comparable, and decision-useful climate information is made available to investors, lenders, insurers, consumers, and other stakeholders in the State.
The Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act requires United States (U.S.)-based entities with more than $1 billion in annual revenue that do business in California to annually report all GHG emissions including direct emissions (Scope 1), indirect emissions from consumed energy (Scope 2), and indirect upstream and downstream GHG emissions (Scope 3). The Climate-Related Financial Risk Act requires U.S.-based entities with more than $500 million in annual revenue that do business in California to biennially report their climate-related financial risk and measures adopted to reduce and adapt to climate-related financial risk.
Health and Safety Code sections 38532 and 38533 each mandate the creation of a fee program to fund program operations. This Proposed Regulation addresses the establishment of these fee programs and specifies certain key definitions necessary for developing the fee. Health and Safety Code section 38532 creates the Climate Accountability and Emissions Disclosure Fund, and Health and Safety Code section 38533 establishes the Climate-Related Financial Risk Disclosure Fund for deposit of respective program fees. CARB must set the fees in an amount sufficient to cover the actual and reasonable costs to administer and implement these programs and may adjust the fee in any year to reflect changes in the California Consumer Price Index during the prior year.
In addition to establishment of the fee program, CARB is also proposing to establish a reporting deadline for implementation of Health and Safety Code section 38532. Health and Safety Code section 38532 requires reporting of Scope 1 and Scope 2 corporate GHG emissions in 2026 but does not specify a particular deadline. Under this Proposed Regulation, entities subject to Health and Safety Code section 38532 shall report Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions on or before August 10, 2026. The establishment of this reporting deadline is intended to provide a clear backstop for reporting but is not intended to establish other program requirements, including, but not limited to, reporting and assurance requirements and enforcement provisions. These elements will be developed and adopted through a subsequent rulemaking.
Inquiries concerning the substance of the proposed regulatory action may be directed to agency representative Jordan Ramalingam, Chief, Climate Data and Risk Reporting Branch, at (916) 277-0499 or John Chung, Air Pollution Specialist, Fee Enforcement and Support Section at (279) 208-7656.
The Notice, ISOR, and all subsequent regulatory documents are available on CARB's Rulemaking webpage.
Written Comment Period & Comment Submittal
In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act interested members of the public may present comments orally or in writing at the hearing and may provide comments by postal mail or by electronic submittal before the hearing. The public comment period for this regulatory action will begin on December 26, 2025. Written comments not physically submitted at the hearing must be submitted on or after December 26, 2025, and received no later than February 9, 2026. Comments submitted outside the comment period are considered untimely. CARB may, but is not required to, respond to untimely comments. The Board also encourages members of the public to bring to the attention of staff in advance of the hearing any suggestions for modification of the proposed regulatory action. Comments submitted in advance of the hearing must be addressed to one of the following:
Clerk of the Board, California Air Resources Board
1001 I Street, Sacramento, California 95814
Please note that under the California Public Records Act (Government Code section 7920.00 et seq.), your written and oral comments, attachments, and associated contact information (e.g., your address, phone, email, etc.) become part of the public record and can be released to the public upon request.
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