Opinion: New York, Wake Up on Methane Emissions
Methane has climbed the national and global climate policy agendas, and has been much talked about in the corridors of COP26 in Glasgow. Meanwhile, implementation of New York’s landmark climate bill, the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) is still in its early stages.
It mandates an 85% cut in New York’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2050. To meet that target, Gov. Hochul signaled she wants to reduce fossil natural gas in the state’s energy mix. That’s because natural gas is mostly methane, a powerful warming agent more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 20 years. We’ll need to cut New York’s methane emissions rapidly to meet the CLCPA goal.