Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, now has the authority to establish a range of climate policies that could significantly lower emissions in the upcoming decades and impose new regulations on people and companies.
A climate plan agreed upon on Monday prepares the way for New York to implement a “cap and invest” program that would limit emissions and force polluters to buy permits to emit greenhouse gases, much like the long-established cap-and-trade system in California.
With a combination of rules and incentives, it urges the electrification of almost everything, including buildings and automobiles.
However, a lot of the measures now depend on Hochul and the Democratic-controlled Legislature taking action. The Democratic governor, who is about to begin her first full term, must deal with the electoral dangers of supporting increased energy costs as well as well-funded opposition from the fossil fuel sector because lawmakers have been slow to enact climate laws.
According to reports, the third largest economy in the country is laying out a plan to reduce emissions quickly, and supporters are hoping that it will be implemented and the roadmap adopted in other states.
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“If there is ever a place that is going to lead the way on solving climate change, it is New York,” Climate Action Council co-chair Doreen Harris, who is president of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, said at the meeting. “I am certain of it.”
The Climate Action Council, which is dominated by administration officials, voted 19 to 3 to finalize the plan Monday with detailed recommendations of how to meet the state’s statutory mandate of cutting emissions 50 percent from 1990 levels by 2030 and 85 per cent by 2050, with the remaining offset to reach net zero emissions.
The steep cuts will require electrifying millions of homes, businesses, trucks and cars, investing in energy efficiency improvements and successfully siting and building thousands of megawatts of new renewable energy projects.
New York’s landmark climate law passed in 2019 gives the state Department of Environmental Conservation broad authority to enact regulations aligned with the plan to achieve the reductions.
Basil Seggos, the commissioner of the DEC, stated that the agency will need more employees to carry out the plan successfully and that the administration has already held negotiations regarding the labour requirements.
This story was adapted from Politico.
