On November 18, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted a motion for injunction pending appeal that temporarily pauses enforcement of California Senate Bill 261 (SB 261) while the court considers a legal challenge to SB 261, along with Senate Bill 253 (SB 253), brought by a coalition led by the Chamber of Commerce. Oral arguments before the court have been scheduled for January 9, 2026. Notably, the court denied appellants’ request for a similar injunction pausing enforcement of SB 253.
As a reminder:
- SB 261 (the Climate-Related Financial Risk Reporting Law) requires companies with over $500 million in total annual revenues doing business in California to publish climate-related financial risk reports, aligned with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures framework or an equivalent that incorporates it, and to disclose measures for risk mitigation and adaptation, on or before January 1, 2026.
- SB 253 (the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act) requires companies with over $1 billion in total annual revenues doing business in California to publicly disclose Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions in conformance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol beginning sometime in 2026 (currently projected for August 10, 2026 based on the California Air Resources Board (CARB’s) most recent virtual webinar) and Scope 3 emissions beginning sometime in 2027. The statute requires third-party assurance (subject to certain accommodations recently announced by CARB) and provides for administrative penalties for noncompliance.
The one-page order issued by the court, which does not address the court’s reasoning behind the order, does not repeal SB 261, nor does it provide any insight into how the court will ultimately rule on appellants’ case, but it does at least delay implementation of SB 261 for now.
As we previously reported, appellants filed an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court on November 10, 2025, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block enforcement of California's climate disclosure laws amid the ongoing legal challenges. Following the Ninth Circuit’s order, appellants withdrew their emergency application to the U.S. Supreme Court, without prejudice.
Notwithstanding the injunction granted by the Ninth Circuit, companies who believe they are in scope of SB 261 should continue to prepare for reporting in the event the legality of SB 261 is ultimately upheld, while continuing to monitor developments in this case. For now, however, companies can take comfort in the fact that the looming January 1, 2026 deadline for SB 261 reporting has been delayed.
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