Bill Text: NY A04123 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Establishes the climate corporate data accountability act requiring certain business entities within the state to annually disclose scope 1, scope 2 and scope 3 emissions; establishes the climate accountability and emissions disclosure fund.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-03 - print number 4123b [A04123 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04123-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         4123--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 9, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  GLICK,  CUNNINGHAM,  KELLES -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  environmental  conservation law, in relation to
          climate corporate accountability

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  This  act shall be known and may be cited as the "climate
     2  corporate accountability act".
     3    § 2. The environmental conservation law is amended  by  adding  a  new
     4  section 75-0121 to read as follows:
     5  § 75-0121. Climate corporate accountability act.
     6    1.  Definitions.  As  used  in this section, the following terms shall
     7  have the following meanings:
     8    a. "Emissions registry" means an entity within  the  department  or  a
     9  nonprofit  emissions  registry organization contracted by the department
    10  pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivision that:
    11    i. Currently operates a voluntary greenhouse  gas  emissions  registry
    12  for organizations operating in the United States; or
    13    ii.  Has experience with voluntary greenhouse gas emissions disclosure
    14  by entities operating in New York.
    15    b. "Reporting entity" means a business entity with total  revenues  in
    16  excess  of one billion dollars in the preceding calendar year, including
    17  revenues received by all the business entity's  subsidiaries  that  does
    18  business in this state.
    19    c.  "Scope  one  emissions"  means all direct greenhouse gas emissions
    20  that stem  from  sources  that  a  reporting  entity  owns  or  directly
    21  controls,  regardless  of  location, including, but not limited to, fuel
    22  combustion activities.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03661-03-3
        A. 4123--A                          2

     1    d. "Scope two emissions" means indirect greenhouse gas emissions  from
     2  electricity  purchased  and  used  by  a reporting entity, regardless of
     3  location.
     4    e.  "Scope  three  emissions" means indirect greenhouse gas emissions,
     5  other than scope two emissions, from activities of  a  reporting  entity
     6  that stem from sources that the reporting entity does not own or direct-
     7  ly control and may include, but are not limited to, emissions associated
     8  with  the  reporting  entity's  supply  chain, business travel, employee
     9  commutes, procurement, waste, and water usage, regardless of location.
    10    2. a. The department shall adopt regulations to  require  a  reporting
    11  entity  to annually disclose and verify to the emissions registry all of
    12  the reporting entity's scope one emissions,  scope  two  emissions,  and
    13  scope three emissions. The regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivi-
    14  sion shall require, at a minimum, that:
    15    i.  (1)  Except  as provided in clause two of this subparagraph, on or
    16  before July first of  each  year,  a  reporting  entity  shall  publicly
    17  disclose  to  the emissions registry all of the reporting entity's scope
    18  one emissions and scope two emissions for the prior calendar  year,  and
    19  its  scope  three  emissions  for  that same calendar year no later than
    20  December thirty-first,  using  the  Greenhouse  Gas  Protocol  Corporate
    21  Accounting and Reporting Standard and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corpo-
    22  rate  Value  Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard developed
    23  by the World Resources Institute and  the  World  Business  Council  for
    24  Sustainable  Development,  including  guidance for scope three emissions
    25  calculations that detail acceptable use of both  primary  and  secondary
    26  data  sources,  including  the use of industry average data, proxy data,
    27  and other generic data in its scope three emissions calculations.
    28    (2) The department shall review, and update as necessary,  the  public
    29  disclosure deadlines established pursuant to clause one of this subpara-
    30  graph to evaluate trends in scope three emissions reporting and consider
    31  changes to the disclosure deadlines to ensure that scope three emissions
    32  data  is disclosed to the emissions registry as close in time as practi-
    33  cable to the deadline for reporting entities to disclose scope one emis-
    34  sions and scope two emissions data.
    35    The reporting timelines shall take into account the timelines by which
    36  reporting entities typically receive scope one,  scope  two,  and  scope
    37  three  emissions data, as well as the capacity for independent verifica-
    38  tion to be performed by  a  third-party  auditor,  as  approved  by  the
    39  department.
    40    ii.  A  reporting entity's public disclosure shall include the name of
    41  the reporting entity and any  fictitious  names,  trade  names,  assumed
    42  names, subsidiaries and logos used by the reporting entity.
    43    iii.  A  reporting  entity's  public disclosure shall be structured in
    44  ways that minimize duplication of effort  and  maximize  and  streamline
    45  reporting  and  ease  of use in meeting the requirements of national and
    46  international disclosure programs  and  standards,  including,  but  not
    47  limited to, adopted rules from the United States Securities and Exchange
    48  Commission  and international standards such as those established by CDP
    49  Global.
    50    iv. (1) A reporting entity's public disclosure shall be  independently
    51  verified  by the emissions registry or a third-party auditor approved by
    52  the department with expertise in greenhouse  gas  emissions  accounting.
    53  The  reporting  entity shall ensure that a copy of the complete, audited
    54  greenhouse gas emissions inventory, including the name of  the  approved
    55  third-party auditor, is provided to the emissions registry as part of or
    56  in connection with the reporting entity's public disclosure.
        A. 4123--A                          3

     1    (2)  The department shall establish auditor qualifications and a proc-
     2  ess for approval of auditors that ensures sufficient  auditor  capacity,
     3  as  well as timely reporting implementation as required under clause one
     4  of subparagraph i of this paragraph.
     5    b. The department shall create or contract with, an emissions registry
     6  to develop a reporting and registry program to receive and make publicly
     7  available  disclosures  required  by  this section. Emissions registries
     8  shall not be authorized  to  provide  services  to  a  company  where  a
     9  conflict of interest exists. A conflict of interest shall include:
    10    i.  The emissions registry and reporting entity sharing any management
    11  staff or board of directors membership, or any of the senior  management
    12  staff  of  the  reporting  entity  having been employed by the emissions
    13  registry or reporting entity within the previous five years.
    14    ii. Any employee of the emissions  registry,  or  any  employee  of  a
    15  related  entity,  or  a  subcontractor  who is a member of the emissions
    16  registry having provided the reporting entity with services  related  to
    17  the  areas  of  emissions  registry,  or  any services designated by the
    18  department, within the previous five years.
    19    iii. Any staff member of the emissions registry providing any type  of
    20  non-monetary  incentive  to  a  reporting  entity  to  secure a services
    21  contract.
    22    c. The department may adopt or update any other  regulations  that  it
    23  deems necessary and appropriate to implement this subdivision.
    24    3.  a. The department shall prepare a report on the public disclosures
    25  made by reporting entities to the emissions registry pursuant to  subdi-
    26  vision two of this section and the regulations adopted by the department
    27  pursuant  to  such  subdivision.  In preparing the report, consideration
    28  shall be given to, at a minimum, greenhouse gas emissions from reporting
    29  entities in the context of state greenhouse gas emissions reduction  and
    30  climate goals.  The department shall issue the report of its findings to
    31  the governor, the speaker of the assembly and the temporary president of
    32  the senate and shall publish such report on its website.
    33    b.  The  emissions registry shall make the reporting entities' disclo-
    34  sures available on  the  department's  website  within  thirty  days  of
    35  receipt of such disclosures.
    36    4.  The  attorney general may bring a civil action against a reporting
    37  entity seeking civil penalties of one hundred thousand dollars  per  day
    38  for  willful  failure to comply with the requirements of this section or
    39  regulations set forth by the department.
    40    § 3. This act shall take effect two years after it shall have become a
    41  law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any
    42  rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act  on  its
    43  effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such
    44  effective date.