US climate disclosure in 2026: the SEC steps back, California does not

The United States now has two very different climate-disclosure stories. At the federal level, the rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2024 are on their way out. In California, large companies are preparing their first mandatory emissions reports. For suppliers to US companies, including Indian exporters, the California story is the one that matters.

The SEC: from defence to rescission

• 27 March 2025. The SEC voted to end its legal defence of the climate disclosure rules.
• 12 September 2025. The Eighth Circuit held the consolidated challenges in abeyance until the SEC either reconsiders the rules through notice-and-comment rulemaking or renews its defence.
• 2026. The SEC proposed rescinding the rules in their entirety, arguing they exceed its statutory authority. The proposal was published in the Federal Register on 3 June 2026, and comments were due by 3 August 2026.

The rules never took effect, and a federal mandate for listed companies to report greenhouse-gas emissions now looks unlikely in the near term.

California: SB 253 goes ahead

California's Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253) requires US entities with more than $1 billion in annual revenue that do business in California to report Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, with Scope 3 to follow. The California Air Resources Board adopted initial rules in early 2026. On 24 June 2026 it moved the first-year Scope 1 and 2 deadline from 10 August to 10 November 2026, after withdrawing the regulation to make limited clarifying revisions.

SB 261, the companion climate-risk reporting law, is different. Enforcement is stayed under a Ninth Circuit injunction while the appeal is heard, and CARB has said it will not enforce the original 1 January 2026 deadline. SB 253 is not affected by that injunction.

The bigger picture

Climate disclosure is fragmenting by jurisdiction rather than disappearing. The EU prices embedded carbon at the border through CBAM, India requires BRSR Core assurance and runs a compliance carbon market, and California mandates corporate emissions reporting. Exporters selling into several markets need one set of well-evidenced emissions data that can be reshaped for each regime.