Advocates Opposing Climate Act Changes Ignoring Reality
As a former long-time reporter, I was guided by the five Ws of journalism—who, what, when, where, why. But I also found it important to add an “H” word—how. As in how something can realistically get done.
That last point seems to get lost by advocates opposing Governor Hochul’s attempt to make common-sense changes to the New York Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act (better known as the CLCPA or the Climate Act.) The CLCPA was established in 2019 by the Legislature and the previous governor to guide New York toward an energy transition away from fossil fuels. The goals were laudable, with the idea that a shift toward a zero-emission grid would help address the worsening problems of climate change and severe weather.
Under the law, New York by 2030 is required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% from 1990 levels while at the same time ensuring that 70% of the state’s energy production will come from renewable sources like wind and solar.
But as Governor Kathy Hochul has repeatedly said, a lot has happened that was impossible to foresee when the law passed in 2019, starting with a global pandemic that slowed down progress followed by post-COVID high inflation, supply chain issues, and federal tariffs that drove up projects costs.
And most notably, we went from a Biden administration that was a key partner with states in the transition to clean energy to the Trump White House and Republican-controlled Congress that is looking to kill renewable energy projects like offshore wind and solar in favor of gas, oil, and even coal.
The result of all this?
* Most, if not all, states with ambitious climate short-term targets are struggling to meet them.
* President Trump has said he will not permit any new offshore wind projects and has tried to stop existing ones under construction.
* The President recently paid TotalEnergies $1 billion to walk away from offshore wind projects in America and instead focus on oil and gas drilling.
* Congress, at the behest of Trump, has eliminated federal incentives for solar and electric vehicles. Newsday recently reported that “EmPower Solar, one of Long Island’s largest and most-established solar rooftop and battery installers,” is closing down months after the federal government ended “a vital solar tax credit.”
* A number of communities throughout New York have either opposed, placed moratoriums, or enacted outright bans on battery energy storage systems, a key component for storing renewable energy so it can be used at peak power times.
Meanwhile, a judge is directing the State to meet its statutory targets to reduce emissions on-time, which a NYSERDA analysis found would cost upstate households more than $4,000 annually on their utility bills and New York City households that use natural gas more than $2,300 while also raising gasoline prices at the pump another $2.23 per gallon.
All this is happening at a time the New York System Independent Operator (NYISO) that oversees our energy grid is warning of looming energy shortages that could lead to brownouts and blackouts, particularly downstate, and energy bills that are only climbing higher and higher.
Rather than focus their ire on Washington for imposing such enormous roadblocks or recognize the economic realities we face today, many environmental advocates prefer to bury their heads in the sand. They want New York to move forward as if nothing has changed by going faster in its build out of renewable energy.
This is where the “How” comes in. How do they suggest we do that when the President has said he won’t permit any new offshore wind and is doing his best to kill projects already moving forward? How when Congress has cut federal subsidies for programs and projects designed to cut emissions, meaning the full cost of the energy transition would be borne by the state and its ratepayers?
How do they dare to compare the Governor to Donald Trump while ignoring that it was Governor Hochul who has successfully fought the President and his White House to save two offshore wind projects and the nation’s first—and successful–congestion pricing program while not caving to his pressure to allow fracking of natural gas?
How do they ignore her record as a national leader on climate and clean energy? In the last five years, New York has approved 38 large-scale solar and wind projects, and that does not even include the first utility-scale offshore wind farm that became operational in 2024. Under this Governor, we met our 2025 distributed solar goals a year early, making us a national leader. The 2025-26 state budget she signed off on included a $1 billion Sustainable Futures Program, the largest climate investment in New York history. And soon, the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) that the Governor championed will become operational, delivering clean hydroelectric power from Quebec to New York City, all of it clean.
And despite what some advocates would have you believe, changing the Climate Act to impose a more realistic implementation timeframe and an emissions accounting formula that matches those of virtually every other state, including California and Colorado, does not mean walking away and giving up on our commitment to clean energy. New York under Governor Hochul has enacted regulations to have the fastest renewable energy and electric transmission permitting process in the nation. We are expanding our nuclear power upstate to provide around-the-clock emissions-free energy. And after Congress acted to phase out the federal incentives for renewable energy, Governor Hochul directed state agencies to fast-track shovel-ready projects to take advantage of the money before the programs expire.
The Governor remains committed to moving forward to achieve our ultimate climate targets, but at a pace New York can afford given all the headwinds we face.
She has been honest with New Yorkers about what it will take to decarbonize our economy and the impacts doing nothing to change the CLCPA will have on people’s wallets. All this is occurring as Americans across the country have watched energy rates skyrocket. It’s why Governor Hochul this year proposed a Ratepayer Protection Plan to hold utilities in New York more accountable and for the State to provide assistance to those who need it most. She is also pushing an all-of-the-above strategy that includes an array of energy options to keep the lights on and costs down for New Yorkers.
The Governor is simply asking the Legislature to work with her to amend the Climate Act to avoid making the current problems of high utility rates and gas prices at the pump even worse.
While others prefer yelling and hyperbolic rhetoric, Governor Hochul has answered the questions of how we will continue our progress toward a cleaner New York, while doing it responsibly, realistically, and affordably.
Lovett is Senior Advisor on Energy and Environment for Governor Kathy Hochul and a former long-time award-winning New York State Capitol reporter.
