When New York enacted the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019, CLCPA or Climate Act for short, it set some of the most ambitious climate goals in the country. The law codified both short and long-term targets for reducing statewide greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to renewable energy.  

We cannot meet NY's goals by 2030

Although New York has made substantial progress towards these goals, a lot has happened in the ensuing years to slow us down. A global pandemic disrupted supply chains. A federal policy pivot is rolling back incentives. Tariffs and geopolitical tensions are driving up costs. Projected demand for power is rising sharply with the expansion of artificial intelligence and data centers. It’s pretty clear that the Climate Act’s short-term targets, those that kick in by 2030, will not be met.  

The current energy debate in Albany is shaped around short-range affordability, and these are very legitimate concerns. But taken in isolation, they........

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