New York’s climate law hits the wall – Watts Up With That?

From CFACT

By David Wojick

Hell done froze. New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a leading contender for Greenest Governor in America, wants to redo their infamous Climate Act because New Yorkers cannot afford it. This is a sure sign that the rapidly rising cost of energy has become a big election issue.

Hochul’s position kicks off what promises to be a grand show over the next three months. New York State is between a rock and a green hard place. Change the law or do the impossible — their choice.

What set this all off is a court ruling that the Climate Act is in fact a law, not a political promise that can be ignored when convenient. The law calls for an impossible 40% cut in New York’s CO2 and other GHG emissions (from 1990 levels) by 2030.

The 2019 law, which remains one of the most ambitious in the country, gave the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) until January 2024 to issue regulations that would ensure New York meets these binding greenhouse gas emissions targets.

DEC never issued those regs, so a bunch of Big Green groups sued. DEC explained in court that issuing the regulations was “infeasible” because it “would require imposing extraordinary and damaging costs upon New Yorkers.”

The judge simply ruled that the law is the law and gave New York State two choices: change the law or issue the regs. The deadline is February 6, 2026, which gives the legislature a mere month to change the law, since it only starts in early January. Changing a law this big that fast will be very hard.

If the law is not changed, then final regs are due on that date, so they must be working on them now. However, Hochul says they will appeal this decision which might (or might not) drag things out for more months. The confusion is huge.

In any case, the NYS Legislature has to already be looking hard at this. Especially given that rising energy cost is a hot election issue and 2026 is an election year for every legislator. Furious lobbying must already be going on. The holiday season will be very green indeed.

There is a hilarious back story on the electric power side of these fanciful emission cuts. There have been lots of seemingly serious planning documents prepared by New York State electric power offices that are actually fictional.

These so-called plans make extensive use of a fiction called “dispatchable emissions-free resources” or DEFRs. It is acknowledged that DEFRs do not exist — except nuclear, which is not considered. So, there is no actual plan for meeting the Climate Law’s 2030 deadline. It simply cannot be done.

Anyone interested in this electric power fiasco should check out the Pragmatic Environmentalist of New York run by Roger Caiazza here:

Roger has steadily tracked and analyzed the Climate Law electric power nonsense for a long time, including submitting a lot of official comments that have been ignored. Now his warnings are coming alive and out of the Governor’s mouth no less. Congratulations, Roger!

There is also a national version of this story that will play out in slower motion over the next few years. Hochul correctly points out that the end of federal subsidies will make renewables a lot more expensive. Almost all states have climate or renewable mandates requiring a steady shift to renewables. These mandates are about to become a lot more costly to voters, so a lot of laws may change.

In summary, the New York State Climate Law is finally hitting the wall. The Law is the rock, and the impossible regulations are the hard place. Something has to give.

Stay tuned to CFACT as this great green drama unfolds.