State Budget Thrashes Landmark Climate Law

Hochul said the changes were needed to protect New Yorkers’ wallets. Legislators at first appeared staunchly opposed, but eventually caved. There would have been no way to get to a budget deal if they hadn’t, Assemblymember Anna Kelles said.

“We are watching New York become the first state in the country to roll back its climate laws. It’s disappointing and embarrassing,” Kelles said.

The 2019 climate law, one of the most ambitious in the country, required the state to create regulations to reduce emission by the start of 2024. It set deadlines to cut emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2030 and achieve near net zero by 2050. 

Hochul’s administration failed to meet the 2024 requirement. Environmental groups sued, and a judge forced Hochul’s hand: Change the law or issue the regulations.

Now, the Hochul administration will have until the end of 2028 to issue regulations to reduce emissions. The deal scraps the 2030 requirement and instead sets an interim target of 2040 to reduce emissions 60 percent from 1990 levels — “to the maximum extent feasible and cost effective.” The 2050 mandate remains in place.

It also alters a key component of the law: changing the state’s emissions counting method from a 20-year one to a 100-year one, a hotly debated move that will make the state seem closer to its climate goals without doing anything else differently.

The changes largely echo the details Hochul shared when she announced that a final deal had been reached on the budget early May, a claim assemblymembers quickly disputed.

The budget leaves the door open for a “cap and invest” program, which had once been Hochul’s flagship climate policy. She abruptly shelved a version of that program, which would have charged polluters for their emissions and used much of the money to fund the energy transition, last year. 

“Governor Hochul has made clear her top priority is keeping the lights on and costs down for all New Yorkers,” said Ken Lovett, Hochul’s energy spokesperson. He added that she “remains committed to building on the state’s robust record of climate and clean energy successes.”

Environmental groups lambasted the deal. “These changes are both giving Hochul an extension on her homework and giving herself a grade inflation on the progress that the state has made so far,” said Rachel Spector, an Earthjustice attorney representing plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Business groups, meanwhile, applauded the updates. 

“We believe these reasonable and necessary amendments will help businesses and consumers who are struggling with affordability issues, while also allowing the state to continue to make meaningful climate progress,” said Patrick Bailey, director of communications at the Business Council of New York State, in a statement.

Hochul has maintained that the 2019 climate law targets were unrealistic in light of the Trump administration’s war on renewable energy, and would make energy prices skyrocket. Environmental advocates have disputed her estimates of the cost of complying with the law.

Hochul and the legislature had an easier time agreeing on other climate and energy policies. 

The  budget includes most of Hochul’s proposed reforms to the way the Public Service Commission regulates utilities. Lawmakers agreed to Hochul’s proposal to tie executive pay at utility companies to new affordability metrics. The legislature also signed off on Hochul’s reforms to the rate hike process, including requiring utilities to justify any “major” hikes as necessary for safety, reliability, or affordability.