BPI Comments on California Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program

The Bank Policy Institute^[1] appreciates the opportunity to provide further feedback to the California Air Resources Board regarding its implementation of California Senate Bill 253 (2023) and Senate Bill 261 (2023), each as amended by Senate Bill 219 (2024), in response to CARB's solicitation of public comments on its March 23, 2026 public workshop, during which CARB requested feedback on its proposed regulatory concepts for subsequent regulation implementing SB 253 reporting requirements applicable in 2027 and beyond, as well as its initial regulation implementing the climate laws adopted at CARB's February 2026 public hearing.^[2]

As discussed in the letter to CARB, dated April 3, 2026, jointly submitted by BPI and the Society for Corporate Governance, we are concerned that the April 13, 2026 deadline for public comments on the public workshop does not provide sufficient time for public input on the wide range of topics and proposals, requests, and questions presented at the public workshop. Accordingly, while this letter reflects our good-faith efforts to provide initial comments on the public workshop, we would welcome additional time beyond the deadline to engage further with CARB on our feedback on the public workshop and request confirmation that CARB will meaningfully consider any substantive input provided by us on or before June 1, 2026 in connection with its formal rulemaking of the subsequent regulation implementing SB 253.

I. Executive Summary

Our members actively evaluate climate-related financial risks and their potential impacts and are developing resources to develop risk management capabilities to identify, measure and mitigate these risks. In the context of general corporate disclosures, many of our members already publish extensive climate-related information, including with respect to certain greenhouse gas emissions and climate risk management.

We appreciate the CARB staff's continued efforts to solicit feedback to help inform, and to provide guidance regarding, CARB's implementation of the climate laws, including through the initial regulation^[3] and the upcoming subsequent regulation.^[4]

To provide feedback on the topics discussed at the public workshop,^[5] and to support implementation of regulations under the climate laws designed to provide meaningful climate-related information to California consumers, investors and members of the public without imposing undue burdens on reporting entities,^[6] we urge CARB to consider the following recommendations in connection with its rulemaking to implement the climate laws:

• CARB should adopt a modified sectoral phase-in approach to scope 3 reporting that would require scope 3 reporting from the transportation and industrial sectors in 2027, with other sectors phased-in over time, while allowing all phased-in reporting entities the flexibility to not report emissions for scope 3 categories and activities they deem de minimis. If CARB nevertheless decides not to adopt our recommended scope 3 reporting approach, we urge CARB to incorporate our recommended de minimis exception regardless of the scope 3 reporting approach it adopts.
• We continue to urge CARB to permit maximum flexibility under the GHG Protocol standards and guidance and avoid requiring the use of any prescriptive GHG emissions reporting templates, organizational boundaries, GHG accounting methods, emissions factor datasets, or assurance standards in connection with its implementation of SB 253.
• We continue to urge CARB to establish December 31 as the annual deadline for GHG emissions reporting under SB 253, starting with the report due in 2027.
• CARB should reconsider certain aspects of the initial regulation to clarify the applicability of the climate laws and reduce uncertainty and increase efficiency in the implementation of the fee determination, invoice and payment processes.

To read the full comment letter, please click here, or click on the download button below.

[1] The Bank Policy Institute (BPI) is a nonpartisan public policy, research and advocacy group, representing the nation's leading banks and their customers. Our members include universal banks, regional banks and the major foreign banks doing business in the United States. Collectively, they employ nearly 2 million Americans, make nearly half of the nation's small business loans and are an engine for financial innovation and economic growth.

[2] BPI previously submitted several comment letters on CARB's implementation of SB 253 and SB 261 (as amended and collectively, the "climate laws"). See BPI, Information Solicitation to Inform Implementation of California Climate Disclosure Legislation: Senate Bills 253 and 261, as amended by SB 219 (Mar. 21, 2025), available at https://bpi.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/BPI-CARB-Comment-Letter-March-2025.pdf; BPI, SB 253/261/219 Public Workshop: Regulation Development and Additional Guidance (August 21, 2025), available at https://bpi.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BPI-CARB-Comment-Letter-September-2025.pdf; and BPI, Proposed California Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reporting and Climate-Related Financial Risk Disclosure Initial Regulation, available at https://bpi.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/BPI-Comments-on-Californias-Climate-Reporting-Initial-Regulation.pdf. BPI recognizes that there is ongoing litigation regarding the climate laws. BPI is submitting this letter to be responsive to CARB's solicitation for public comments on its public workshop and is not expressing any view on the litigation. In addition, this letter does not take a position on or otherwise waive potential arguments relating to the authority of a state regulator to require reporting of information and payment of a fee in connection with such reporting from a national bank under applicable law, including 12 U.S.C. § 484.

[3] The "initial regulation" refers to the regulation implementing the climate laws adopted at CARB's February 2026 public hearing. See Proposed California Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reporting and Climate-Related Financial Risk Disclosure Initial Regulation, published on December 23, 2025, available at https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/regact/2025/sb253-261/reg%20text.pdf.

[4] The "subsequent regulation" refers to the future regulation contemplated by CARB to establish reporting requirements under SB 253 applicable in 2027 and beyond, as discussed at the public workshop.

[5] The "public workshop" refers to CARB's most recent public workshop held on March 23, 2026. See CARB, SB 253 Public Workshop California Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (March 23, 2026) (the "Presentation"), https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2026-03/SB%20253%20March%202026%20Workshop%20Slides%20Final.pdf.

[6] We use the term "reporting entities" to generally refer to both "reporting entities" as defined in SB 253 and "covered entities" as defined in SB 261 for purposes of this letter, unless otherwise specified with respect to a particular climate law.