SB 1036: Voluntary carbon offsets: business regulation.

Under existing law, it is unlawful for a person to make an untruthful, deceptive, or misleading environmental marketing claim, whether explicit or implied.

Existing law requires business entities that are marketing or selling voluntary carbon offsets, as defined, within the state, and other entities engaging in specified activities relating to voluntary carbon offsets, to disclose on their internet websites certain information relating to those voluntary carbon offsets, as specified. Under existing law, a violation of those disclosure requirements is subject to a civil penalty.

This bill would make it unlawful for a person to certify or issue a voluntary carbon offset, to maintain on a registry a voluntary carbon offset, or to market, make available or offer for sale, or sell a voluntary carbon offset if the person knows or should know that the greenhouse gas reductions or greenhouse gas removal enhancements of the offset project related to the voluntary carbon offset are unlikely to be quantifiable, real, and additional.

The bill would also make it unlawful for a person to verify an offset project for the purposes of issuing a voluntary carbon offset if the person knows or should know that the greenhouse gas reductions or greenhouse gas removal enhancements of the offset project are unlikely to be quantifiable, real, and additional. The bill would make it unlawful for a person person, under certain circumstances, to market, make available or offer for sale, or sell a voluntary carbon offset if the person knows or should know that the durability of the voluntary carbon offsets greenhouse gas reductions or greenhouse gas removal enhancements is less than the atmospheric lifetime of carbon dioxide emissions, except as provided. The bill would make it unlawful for a person to market, make available or offer for sale, or sell a voluntary carbon offset if the person knows or should know that the atmospheric lifetime of the greenhouse gases associated with the voluntary carbon offsets greenhouse gas reductions or greenhouse gas removal enhancements is less than the atmospheric lifetime of carbon dioxide emissions, except as provided. without explicitly marketing the voluntary carbon offset as not being physically equivalent to the climate impact of carbon dioxide.