California Climate Risk Disclosure Law Paused
November 20, 2025
California Climate Disclosure Paused
A federal appeals court on Tuesday halted a California law requiring companies to disclose the risks that climate change poses to their business.
The Ninth Circuit issued a motion holding up the enforcement of California’s Senate Bill 261 while the case against it plays out.
That law would have required companies to prepare a report on their climate-related financial risks by Jan. 1.
The court did not explain its reasons for the pause, which comes after an emergency motion from industry groups that are challenging the law.
The court declined to halt enforcement of a second law, Senate Bill 253 , which requires companies to report their planet-warming emissions. The California Air Resources Board has proposed to require those reports to be completed by June 30.
Industry groups suing over the issue had previously asked the Supreme Court for an emergency injunction. They withdrew that request after the appeals court decision.
Whether to require companies to disclose the risks that climate change poses to their business and how much they are contributing to the problem has been a hot topic in Washington, D.C., as well as California.
The federal Securities and Exchange Commission said earlier this year it would not defend the climate disclosure rules it had pursued when it had a Democratic majority under the Biden administration.
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