Here’s the intro from this Cooley Alert penned by Beth Sasfai, Michael Mencher, Vince Flynn and Jordan Cohen:
“On November 18, 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of SB 261 (climate-related financial risk reporting) pending appeal, but not affecting SB 253 (greenhouse gas emissions reporting). Oral arguments before the Ninth Circuit took place on January 9, 2026, but as of now the stay remains in effect.
Despite the ongoing litigation, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has moved from issuing guidance to a formal initial rulemaking package focused on fees and key applicability definitions, proposing a first-year deadline of August 10, 2026, for SB 253 Scopes 1 and 2 reporting. Although SB 261 timing is uncertain given the injunction, the litigation and rulemaking posture suggests covered companies should be prepared to publish SB 261 reports following any lifting of the stay.
As SB 253 currently is unaffected by the litigation, companies should continue preparing for disclosure, taking into account CARB’s previously announced first-year reporting guidance for companies that had not previously measured emissions – including CARB’s stated expectation that entities not currently collecting/planning to collect Scopes 1 and 2 emissions data as of CARB’s December 5, 2024, enforcement notice may submit, in lieu of emissions data for the 2026 submission, a statement on company letterhead attesting to that fact.”
Authored by
Broc Romanek