For three years, New York has had ambitious goals to combat climate change, but no plan for how to achieve them before rapidly approaching deadlines. At an important hearing on Monday, the timetable was decided on how to proceed.
The state’s Climate Action Council (CAC) has completed its “blueprint” to meet the mandates of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019, which requires a carbon-neutral economy, through massive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and expanded use of clean energy, by 2050 and emission-free electricity by 2040.
“Through the actions outlined in the plan, we will be able to achieve things our parents and grandparents never thought possible, a reliable energy system that is cleaner and more resilient, but also a system that does not place an undue burden on certain communities.” . said Rory Christian, chairman of the New York State Public Service Commission.
The far-reaching plan affects all parts of the economy: it can affect how New Yorkers heat their homes and businesses, how their energy is produced, and what types of cars and other transportation options are available for commuting. This has implications for jobs and businesses that may need to support new services, as well as those that will gradually disappear as the transition progresses.
And it has the potential to improve air quality across the state, especially for those living near fossil fuel infrastructure.
“Climate change has been described by the World Health Organization as the single greatest threat to human health,” said Gary Ginsberg, director of the Center for Environmental Health at the State Department of Health. “[This] The action plan will result in air pollution reduction and health benefits.”
The real work is still ahead, admitted several members of the CAC. While the proposals are merely a guide for the state Department of Environmental Conservation under Gov. Kathy Hochul in drafting regulations. Albany lawmakers can also create bills to advance — or obstruct — certain elements of the plan.
“Unfortunately, we have an extraordinary amount of work ahead of us in 2023 and beyond,” said Basil Seggos, DEC commissioner and CAC co-chair.
The future etc.
Nineteen of 22 members of the CAC — the body created by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) to determine how the state would fulfill its mandates — voted in favor of the plan, with many citing their children’s future.
“I often think of my three children when I think of this work,” said RuthAnne Visnauskas, commissioner for the state’s Department of Homes and Community Regeneration. “Yours will be the first generation to test whether we’ve pushed our goals far enough to create sustainable solutions, or whether we’ve fallen a little short.”
Members represent different sectors and include environmental advocates and climate scientists, as well as a fossil fuel executive and union leader, as well as several officials from Hochul administration.
A key focus of the CAC, and the plan itself, is how to ensure a “just” transition that redirects investments and benefits to communities that are historically and disproportionately burdened by climate impacts.
To this end, the roadmap proposes vocational training and reskilling of members of these communities – as well as workers whose jobs may be displaced – so that they can participate in the burgeoning economy.
However, these “disadvantaged” areas have yet to be defined, as previously reported by THE CITY.
The blueprint proposes new energy efficiency standards for buildings, widespread installation of electric heat pumps and other devices, promotion of transport-oriented development, and incentives to reduce reliance on gas-powered vehicles and mileage.
It also proposes expanding renewable energy generators, improved transmission lines and large amounts of battery storage.
“We are talking about roughly doubling our electrical load over the next few decades to support the level of electrification needed to meet climate law goals,” Doreen Harris, President and CEO of New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and co-chair of the CAC, told THE CITY ahead of the vote.
“So with that, [the plan] definitely represents a future where even more sun, wind, offshore wind, etc. will be needed to support this expansion.”
For example, Harris’ “etcetera” could refer to the potential use of biofuel gas or hydrogen to help power the grid — a point of contention between members who present such resources as false solutions and others who see them as promising.
In detail
The three members who voted against the plan raised concerns about the cost to consumers and reliability as old power plants close and new ones ramp up. If the Public Service Commission determines that reliability is at risk, the CLCPA allows the state to readjust the energy plan, even if it doesn’t conform to the goals of the CLCPA.
In a December 2021 draft of the plan, NYSERDA estimated that achieving the CLCPA-required reductions in greenhouse gas emissions could cost up to $310 billion — with net benefits in health and avoided emissions worth up to $115 billion. Dollar. But there was no comprehensive analysis of utility customer spending.
“Macro analysis … is important, but it doesn’t tell people how they’re going to pay their bills,” said Gavin Donohue, president and CEO of the Independent Power Producers of New York and one of the CAC members who voted no on the plan .
Despite widespread approval, there were still disagreements among members about certain aspects of the plan — including a proposed California-style statewide cap-and-trade program that CAC calls “cap-and-invest.”
That way, companies would pay for CO2 emissions above a certain limit, and the state would use the money to pay for green energy grants and incentives.
Energy Justice Attorney Raya Salter criticized the “market-based” system; Environmental justice communities have long rejected such mechanisms because they do not necessarily result in emission reductions in the hardest-hit areas. But other members framed the cap-and-trade plan as a way to fund the transition.
“We will make the most of the fantastic Inflation Reduction Act and federal funding we can, but we will also require polluters to pay and share in the costs for the state to comply with this plan,” said Anne Reynolds , executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York.
As technology, economics, and climate science advance, the state can review and revise the plan, which must be updated every five years.
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