Details
In fall 2023, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed three far-reaching climate disclosure bills – Senate Bill 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (CCDAA); Senate Bill 261, the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act (CRFRA); and Assembly Bill 1305, the Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act (VCMDA). These three laws impose first-of-their-kind public climate disclosures on companies within the US that also qualify as doing business in or operating in the state of California. With the VCMDA taking effect on January 1, 2024, and the CCDAA and CRFRA taking effect much later, it is important for companies to understand how they may be affected by these sweeping disclosure laws.
Join Cooley lawyers Michael Mencher and Charlotte Yin, and Anna Cerf, product policy lead at Watershed, as they discuss the core provisions of each bill and highlight:
- The requirements of these three new laws.
- Which organizations they apply to and how to comply.
- The ways in which companies may be surprised that the disclosures apply to them.
- Practical compliance steps to take now and within the next two years.
- How to get your board and legal teams ready for the new regulations.
- How these laws compare to other climate reporting regulations coming out of the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the European Union.
Speakers
Michael Mencher
Special Counsel, Cooley
Michael Mencher represents public and late-stage private companies in a broad range of sustainability, corporate governance, securities regulation and other corporate matters, with a special emphasis on climate-related advice. Michael has extensive experience assisting corporate and funds clients with the establishment and development of environmental, social and governance (ESG) programs, and he provides strategic advice to boards and management teams on complex sustainability matters, including disclosure regulations, climate reporting and targets, transaction diligence, green finance, board oversight, and shareholder and stakeholder engagement. He also regularly counsels public companies and their boards on governance and securities issues, including Exchange Act reporting, annual meetings, shareholder activism, insider trading, and board structure and composition matters, and he draws upon his broad disclosure and governance experience in his ESG and climate practice.
Charlotte Yin
Associate, Cooley
Charlotte Yin practices general corporate and securities law, with an emphasis on the representation of emerging companies, public companies and venture capital funds on a broad range of transactional and ESG matters. Charlotte advises public companies and their boards on governance and securities issues, including Exchange Act reporting, annual meetings, shareholder activism, and board structure and composition matters. In addition, Charlotte has experience counseling companies across multiple industries, including biotechnology, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, on climate reporting and targets, shareholder engagement, and other sustainability-focused topics.
Anna Cerf
Product Policy Lead, Watershed
Anna Cerf’s role at Watershed – a climate platform to measure, reduce and report on emissions – is to help prepare complex companies for future challenges across climate disclosures and decarbonization. She works across regulators, climate leaders and the broader policy ecosystem to understand high-impact opportunities in a transitioning economy.