California Climate Bills to Boost Efforts in NY, Other States

California’s first-in-the-nation measures requiring companies to disclose financial risks related to climate and report greenhouse gas emissions could embolden other states to take similar action in an effort to address climate change.

The two bills approved by California lawmakers—which Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has said he’ll sign—come as states have differed in their approaches to regulating the use of environmental, social, and governance factors by businesses. Red states have enacted laws this year barring ESG considerations in pension and other government decisions while blue states have focused largely on transparency and reporting measures.

The California bills have a broad ...