The New York State Senate passed the strongest climate legislation in the nation as part of a three-way agreement with the Assembly and Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The new legislation will cut pollution across economic sectors.
The S6599 bill aims to address and reduce the effects of climate change by drastically cutting greenhouse gases, diverting the state’s energy reliance to renewable energy and creating green jobs across New York state.
The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act:
- Sets the highest standards in the nation by mandating 85 percent greenhouse gas emissions reductions economy-wide by 2050, with incentives to reduce the impact of the last 15 percent;
- Mandates that New York source 70 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, like wind and solar, by 2030, and achieve a 100 percent carbon-free electric sector by 2040;
- Codifies the governor’s existing clean energy commitments, including a 3 percent utility energy efficiency target, 9-gigawatt of offshore wind, 3-gigawatt of energy storage and 6-gigawatt of distributed solar;
- Invests 35 percent of state climate funds in frontline communities through efficiency, renewable energy, jobs programs and more;
- Requires an air-quality monitoring program that protects disadvantaged communities and prohibits carbon offsets for the electric, transportation and building sectors;
- Creates a framework by which the Department of Environmental Conservation, in consultation with the climate council and others, must craft regulations to implement emissions reduction targets across the economy, including the electric sector; performance standards for buildings, industry and other sectors; and transportation sector emissions-reductions programs, including electrification.
