Opinion: To Accelerate NY’s Climate Progress, Pass a Clean Fuel Policy
This week, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a budget deal which allocates $1 billion for climate programs, details TBA. But the Legislature still has urgent work to do to implement New York’s landmark climate law and defend it from Trump administration attacks. To accelerate climate progress, it should pass a clean fuel policy this session.
The state’s climate law mandates a 40 percent greenhouse gas reduction by 2030, and 100 percent zero-emission electricity generation by 2040. We’re not on track to meet those goals. Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency denounced the law as unimplementable, even as the U.S. Department of the Interior revoked the permit for a large windpower project off Long Island that would have helped implement it.