ALBANY, New York — A memo written and released by Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration to bolster the case for changing the state’s climate law is drawing questions from progressive environmentalists and lawmakers.
Hochul touted the memo’s conclusions Wednesday and warned that a court case would force her to impose painful costs on New York residents. The governor is pushing for changes to New York’s landmark 2019 climate law in this year’s budget.
“Remember the memo that scared the crap out of everybody when they saw those numbers?” Hochul asked this week at POLITICO’s Albany summit. “I’ve been pushing that memo around for a couple of years — nobody was paying attention to it.”
The memo, dated Feb. 26, is based in part on modeling from 2024, according to a NYSERDA analyst. The state’s energy authority did not release the figures at the time because the level of targeted emissions reductions — in line with the state’s statutory goal of a 40 percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2030 — wasn’t considered realistic or achievable, the analyst said.
