In what is being described by environmental and industry groups as the most significant environmental legislation this year in Sacramento, state lawmakers have sent a bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom that would require corporations doing business in California add up how many tons of greenhouse gases they emit each year, and make the information public.
The data could potentially be used by researchers, advocacy groups, media outlets and others to issue “biggest polluter” lists showing which companies emit the most carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases that scientists say are contributing to the steady warming of the planet. Newsom has not indicated whether or not he will sign it. He is scheduled to appear on Sunday at Climate Week, an annual conference in New York City that is run in partnership with the United Nations., a key to addressing climate change, by making more transparent who the largest polluters are.
“Business leaders and company owners make decisions — including where to locate and expand their operations — based on costs and the ability to be profitable,” said Denise Davis, a spokeswoman for the California Chamber of Commerce. “This is a profoundly flawed mandate that focuses on data that is either unobtainable or will be inaccurately reported.”
“There is just no system where you plug in the data and the answer gets spit out,” he added. “If somebody buys a hamburger at McDonalds and they eat it in their car, do those emissions count?”They include Silicon Valley titans like Apple, Google and Microsoft.
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