Historic Climate Action Plan Adopted
By Jeff Jones, Alliance for Clean Energy New York
Nearly three years after its passage, the plan to implement the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) has been adopted in a 19-3 vote by the Climate Action Council (CAC). Among the most meaningful plans yet developed at any government level, New York’s Scoping Plan puts the state on course to achieve bold climate goals, including generating 70% of the state’s electricity from zero-carbon renewable sources by 2030 and 100% from emissions-free sources a decade later. In addition, the plan features significant goals to invest in disadvantaged communities facing unique and intense climate impacts, as well as a commitment to making sure those working in the emerging green energy economy will be fairly paid – many at union wages. In addition, the plan commits to providing those currently working in the fossil fuel industry a just transition, as well as training a newly diverse workforce. The plan’s goals reflect years of successful advocacy by climate and environmental justice advocates, strong support from organized labor, and a massive commitment of time and expertise by more than 300 state agency personnel and consultants.
Co-chaired for the better part of two years by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) President and CEO Doreen Harris and Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos, the CAC held some 30 meetings to receive and evaluate the suggestions and insights developed by a range of advisory panels. Thousands of New Yorkers weighed in through a series of virtual and in-person public hearings. And one panel, the Climate Justice Working Group, will remain active to periodically evaluate on-going implementation of the law’s mandate that between 35% and 40% of the benefits of climate investments accrue to disadvantaged communities. This particular mandate has already been reflected at the federal level in the Justice40 Executive Order inspired by the CLCPA and issued by President Joe Biden at the start of his presidency.
Most CAC members’ comments after the vote celebrated the achievement and looked forward to a complicated but rewarding implementation process. The three negative votes broadly represented concerns that the plan would move too quickly to dismantle the state’s existing, mostly natural gas infrastructure and that reliance on renewable energy sources threatened reliability. Concerns about costs to consumers of transforming the state’s energy grid over the next three decades were also raised.
Speaking as one of the CAC’s yes voters, Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY) Executive Director Anne Reynolds pointed out the cost of failure to transform the grid: “In this Plan, we have answered many concerns at the societal level,” Reynolds said. “That is – we have done a cost-benefit analysis and found that the cost of inaction is higher than the cost of action. We have found that more jobs will be created than displaced. But we all know that as New York State implements this plan, these same questions must be answered at the community and individual level. I’m voting yes for this plan because I think they will be. Incentives, rebates, carbon pricing policy – all need to be designed to protect the vulnerable, whether they be low-income New Yorkers, people in frontline communities, workers that could lose their jobs, or business that won’t be able to compete. The Plan continually reiterates this concern, which it should.”
As implementation moves forward, there will be a range of steps at various levels of government. Some, like direct sales of electric vehicles, will require legislative action, either through the State’s budget or a new law. Many key elements will require action by the state Public Service Commission. Other aspects can be handled by agency regulation at the Department of Environmental Conservation, NYSERDA, and the Department of Agriculture & Markets. And ACE NY will be holding a series of webinars in 2023 to provide those interested with a break-down of key elements of the plan. Information about these sessions will be available at: www.aceny.org.
