Latest Climate Changes

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s recently proposed Green New Deal would mandate that New York be powered 100% by carbon-free electricity by 2040. To meet this goal, the state will increase its targets for offshore wind power to 9,000 megawatts (MW) by 2035, which quadruples the previous goal of 2,400 by 2030; increase the distributed solar energy target to 6,000 MW by 2025, up from 3,000 by 2023; and deploy 3,000 MW of energy storage by 2030.

Last month, Governor Cuomo and the Department of Public Service (DPS) moved to implement landmark new energy efficiency and energy storage targets that will help decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

Nearly 250 cities, towns and villages in New York are changing the way they operate to fight climate change. These municipalities are part of the state’s nine-year-old Climate Smart Communities (CSC) program, which capitalizes on the fact local governments have direct control or major influence on most of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The ongoing federal government shutdown has brought several consequences to our environment and public health. Many local projects, such as air quality monitoring and Superfund site cleanups including the Gowanus Canal in New York City, are suspended.

Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt may continue former Secretary Zinke’s anti-environmental legacy of rolling back federal lands protections and stopping progress on climate change.

A new $1.25 million pilot program spearheaded by New York City Council Member Rafael Espinal will put electric school buses on the road in NYC, an effort NYLCV has supported. In addition, the City Council Environmental Protection Committee recently held a hearing on Council Member Danny Dromm’s bill, Intro. 455, to speed up the transition to cleaner school buses.

Late last month, the Trump Administration approved a plan to allow oil companies to conduct seismic testing along the Eastern Atlantic, seen as the first step toward the administration leasing federal waters for oil drilling. Oil and gas exploration not only severely disrupts marine wildlife, but it would also worsen the fight against climate change.