Overview
- Gov. Kathy Hochul defended her plan to push key climate rules to 2030 and switch to a 100-year emissions measure, following Wednesday’s large rally outside her Capitol office.
- She argued current timelines would drive up household energy bills by about $4,000 a year and add $2.23 to a gallon of gas, figures drawn from a NYSERDA memo that environmental groups say overstate costs by leaving out rebates.
- Top Democrats, including Senate Finance Chair Liz Krueger and Assembly Environmental Chair Deborah Glick, said they could discuss later deadlines if methane stays measured on a 20-year basis, and they stressed they still have no bill text from the governor.
- A lawsuit over missed 2024 deadlines seeks to force rules for a cap-and-invest system that limits emissions and auctions pollution permits, and moving the target to 2030 could undercut that case.
- The budget talks have slowed as outside groups counter Hochul’s affordability claim, with NY Renews estimating a delay would forfeit nearly $9,000 in household energy savings over five years and bring job and health losses.