Overview
- Gov. Kathy Hochul is pushing lawmakers to move the 2019 climate law’s missed 2024 rulemaking deadline to 2028, a step the New York Post reports is central to the stalled state budget and tied to a delayed cap-and-trade plan that would cap emissions and sell pollution permits to companies.
- Her team is also seeking statutory tweaks reported by the Post that include replacing the 2030 target of a 40% emissions cut with a 60% cut by 2040 and switching to a 100‑year measure for greenhouse gases rather than the law’s current 20‑year lens.
- Hochul’s administration did not issue required regulations by 2024 and shelved a cap‑and‑invest program in January 2025, which led advocates to sue, a judge to order regulation, and the state to appeal in a case that could be mooted if deadlines move, according to City Limits and the Post.
- Seventeen current and former legislators filed an April court brief urging enforcement of the law and acknowledging it anticipated costs, arguing the environmental agency must manage expenses rather than avoid issuing rules, the Post reports.
- A NYSERDA analysis cited by the Post projects higher gasoline and heating costs by 2031 without changes and a Bronx housing lawyer warns of sharp maintenance hikes, while a Hochul adviser says the governor backs changes to keep costs down and climate activists report arrests during sit‑ins outside her office.