New York passes sweeping plan to reduce emissions and ‘lead the way on solving climate change’
Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/19/new-york-emissions-climate-change-00074600
Author: Marie J. French
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is now empowered to enact a suite of climate policies that could drastically reduce emissions in the coming decades and place new mandates on individuals and businesses. A climate plan approved Monday paves the way for New York to enact a “cap and invest” program similar to California’s long-established cap-and-trade system that would limit emissions and require polluters to purchase allowances to spew greenhouse gasses. 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 percent 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.