Good morning. It’s Monday. Today we’ll look at how New York is doing with its efforts to fight climate change.
New York was once considered a groundbreaker on addressing climate change, with a law that promised to all but eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Gas-guzzling cars and oil-burning heaters and furnaces would be relics of a fossil-fuel past, and all the electricity in the state would come from carbon-free sources. But Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who is facing an affordability crisis and rising energy demand, has slowed progress on climate issues. I talked with Hilary Howard, who covers climate change and the environment in the New York region, for an assessment. Why do climate activists — and some of Hochul’s fellow Democrats — say that her focus on affordability is undermining the state’s climate goals? Governor Hochul, who is navigating a shaky economy and surging power demand, has adopted an “all of the above” approach to energy, which has included new nuclear and natural gas initiatives. This is in response to President Trump’s cancellation of several renewable energy projects in New York. Hochul’s idea is that having abundant and varied amounts of energy will keep down consumers’ costs. But gas is problematic when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. It can leak throughout the production and distribution process, which leads to methane emissions. This, plus the combustion of gas, which produces carbon dioxide, creates more emissions. The goals of the New York climate law are about cutting emissions, not generating more of them. And isn’t the infrastructure for natural gas expensive and time-consuming to build out? Yes, and energy customers often pay for it. For example, ratepayers will subsidize the construction of the underwater pipeline off New York City that was approved this fall. The pipeline will increase the state’s energy supply, but it will also mean higher bills, as well as more pollution and global warming. You mentioned nuclear power. Does it fit into an environmentally friendly strategy? Nuclear energy is considered “clean” — it produces virtually no emissions. But it costs billions, takes years to build and produces radioactive waste. Plus, memories remain of catastrophic accidents like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. It’s a divisive issue among climate activists. In 2021, when former Gov. Andrew Cuomo shut down the Indian Point nuclear plant just north of New York City, some environmentalists celebrated the decision, but fossil fuels had to make up the difference to meet energy needs. Emissions from oil and gas in downstate New York shot up by over 10 percent in one year. Under the climate law you mentioned, New York is supposed to eliminate nearly all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. That was an ambitious goal when it was set six years ago. Is it achievable now? The first goal, a 40 percent reduction in emissions by 2030, is running between six and eight years late, according to the state. So far, emissions have been reduced by about 10 percent. Four years are left. Meeting that goal is not looking promising. That said, there is a major transmission line that will deliver about 20 percent of the city’s power needs, in the form of hydropower from Canada, scheduled to go online next year. That could really move the needle. The state could still meet its goals. But Marguerite Wells, the executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, told me that it would take “a concerted effort” among state agencies. Another element of the climate law is a “cap and invest” program. Once the state starts that, will consumers’ utility bills go up? In the long term, energy-efficiency measures and clean energy projects can lead to lower electricity costs. But in the short term, as long as natural gas remains the largest source of fuel for electricity, gas customers will feel the pinch. This is because the cost of doing business for fossil fuel companies will rise under cap and invest. The regulations currently include payments to homeowners to shoulder those extra costs. Cap and invest, the centerpiece of the state’s climate law, could bring in $5 billion, according to one estimate you quoted. What would the money be spent on? About a third of the funds raised would go directly to New York households that are dependent on gas and struggling to pay their energy bills in the form of direct payments. The rest would go toward home retrofits — heat pumps and solar installation — along with electrifying buses, expanding electric-vehicle charging networks and building large infrastructure projects like geothermal. This, of course, all depends on the final regulations, which are subject to change. A bill on Hochul’s desk would get rid of a rule requiring utilities to provide free natural gas hookups to customers who live close to existing gas lines. What would that mean for consumers? As the rule stands now, existing gas customers are subsidizing these automatic gas hookups for new customers, who get them free. Should the rule be repealed, new customers would pay for the hookups. This would take the financial burden off existing ratepayers, who are currently subsidizing the new hookups through their utility bills. So, for the first time, new customers would have to consider an initial expense involved in using gas. WEATHER Expect cloudy conditions with a high around 29. Snow showers are possible in the afternoon. Tonight, the chance of show showers continues with temperatures around 22. ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING Suspended for snow removal. The latest New York news
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Dear Diary: Imagine you are a teenager in the 1970s and the only person in your family to request a ticket to a Broadway show as a gift for your December birthday. Maybe it was the 1965 television production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” that hooked you, but every year as your birthday approaches you scan the paper for the show you want to see. Your father treks back from Midtown and collects you, and you depart together from the Ho-Ho-Kus station and then transfer to the PATH train in Hoboken. No stopping at the Clam Broth House. You emerge in Manhattan, and as your generally stern father gently guides you away from the seediest doorways and alleys of Times Square, you forget about school and your younger siblings at home. You don’t know in advance where you will eat, but it turns out that your father will steer you over thick cables and into the doorway at Sardi’s for the first time. You eat upstairs because Jerry Lewis is being filmed downstairs. Another time, you eat at the Ginger Man, where you steal glances at Mary Tyler Moore across the room. Over the years, you and your father head to the Majestic Theater to see “The Wiz” starring Stephanie Mills, and to the Delacorte — or was it the Uris — to see Kevin Kline in “The Pirates of Penzance.” Imagine trying but failing to stifle your silent sobs while you watch Yul Brynner perform the death scene in “The King and I.” Back then, this was me. — Cynthia Strickland Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Tell us your New York story here and read more Metropolitan Diary here. Glad we could get together here. See you tomorrow. — J.B. P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. You can find all our puzzles here. Lauren Hard, Davaughnia Wilson and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at nytoday@nytimes.com. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.
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