Hochul to announce proposed changes to climate law this week

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she’ll be announcing her proposals for changes to the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) later this week.

“We’ll be announcing them this week. I think we need a longer runway,” Hochul told reporters in Buffalo Monday, referring to the dates by which the state must meet certain goals as outlined in the 2019 climate law. The CLCPA mandates the state lower greenhouse gas emissions to 40% of 1990 levels by 2030, and by 85% by 2050.

The governor has also floated changing the formula by which success is measured.

Hochul has leaned heavily on a recent NYSERDA memo that forecast increased utility costs if the law isn’t changed.

“All the goals we’re supposed to meet would have to be met by 2030, 2031. That’s not possible without prices going up,” Hochul said.

The CLCPA will likely be the key sticking point as state budget talks begin among the governor and the Democratic-led Legislature, which doesn’t seem eager to make changes. Earlier this month, state Sen. Liz Krueger, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, led 29 of 41 Democratic state senators in sending a letter to Hochul “categorically” rejecting climate law rollbacks, insisting the NYSERDA memo is flawed. The Assembly’s one-house budget proposal includes addressing utility rates in multiple ways, including proposing Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebates, or POWER checks.

Meanwhile, state Senate Republicans are urging Hochul to reconvene the Climate Action Council to take up review of the CLCPA. The Climate Action Council is a 22-member panel appointed by the governor and both houses of the Senate and Assembly.