New York: Don’t give up on the climate fight

In a recent editorial, the Buffalo News urged the state’s leadership to redouble its efforts in addressing climate change, fully implementing our progressive climate law, the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act (CLCPA) of 2019.

Two of these leaders, New York State Energy and Research Development Authority President Doreen Harris and Rory Christian, Chair of the New York State Public Service Commission, responded. They correctly noted some significant progress on climate, but they also urged a retrenchment from a core consideration of the CLCPA: how we estimate our greenhouse gas emissions. We fundamentally disagree with Harris and Christian on this and urge them and other state leaders to stay the course.

Well over a decade ago, New York banned fracking for shale gas, yet New Yorkers continue to use a lot of shale gas to heat homes and commercial buildings and to generate electric power. This gas comes largely from Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The climate impacts are significant, particular from methane emissions from the production, processing, and transport of the shale gas, but these emissions largely occur outside of the boundaries of New York.

The CLCPA stipulates that we New Yorkers take responsibility for all the emissions associated with the gas we use in our state. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), methane has contributed 30% of all global warming over the past 150 years, and methane has likely caused 40% to 50% of all warming in the past 20 years. Methane is rising rapidly in the atmosphere, and emissions from shale gas development in the U.S. are a major cause.

Harris and Christian refer to an IPCC “standard used around the world” for greenhouse gas accounting, stating that the pioneering approach now used in New York deviates from this standard. There is no such IPCC standard, as IPCC reports dating back to 2008 explicitly state.

Rather, there is an old and widely applied approach that dates back to political decisions made in the 1990s as part of the Kyoto Protocol, accounting for methane using a time scale of 100 years after emission. This approach greatly understates the damage methane causes to the climate. New York is correct to have developed a more responsible approach in the CLCPA, using a 20-year timeframe that more accurately captures methane’s warming impact, in addition to having New Yorkers take full responsibility for our fossil fuel use. Industry lobbyists have been fighting tooth and nail to end New York’s approach for accounting. The false narrative of an “IPCC standard” is a part of their effort.

We share the concern raised by Harris and Christian over a potential backlash caused by rising energy bills, but the rapid inflation in energy is not caused by the transition to a renewable energy economy. A recent study shows that states with higher rates of renewable electricity are seeing the lowest rates of energy inflation.

Rising costs are caused by a variety of factors, including increased exports of liquefied natural gas from the U.S., increased energy demand for cryptocurrencies and massive data centers. In New York, the underinvestment for infrastructure by utilities over many decades is also partly to blame, as is the past legacy cost from the failed Shoreham nuclear plant on Long Island. Those who blame energy inflation costs on the renewable transition are scapegoating in order to cover up the real problems.

New York should proceed more rapidly with full implementation of the CLCPA, which will better buffer our citizens from the volatility of energy prices tied to fossil fuels. After years of careful study and debate and with input from thousands of citizens, in December 2022 the NY Climate Action Council passed a blueprint for implementation of the CLCPA, as required by law.

This plan was approved overwhelmingly by the Council on a 19-3 vote, with Council Co-Chair Harris and Council members Christian as well as one of us (Howarth) voting in the affirmative. The plan well documents that the cost of inaction on climate is far greater than the cost of implementing the CLCPA.

And it demonstrates an affordable path forward for achieving perhaps the most important climate goal for New York: moving away from fossil fuels as the way we heat our homes as quickly as possible. Greenhouse gas emissions from homes and commercial buildings are the largest part of New York’s climate impact.

New York is the eighth largest economy in the world. We have the resources to address climate disruption. By following the CLCPA and the blueprint from the Climate Action Council, we can set an example for other states and nations to follow. Doing so will benefit New York’s citizens and businesses. All New Yorkers should be proud of our CLCPA climate law.

“Leadership” is in the name of the bill, and there is no more important time than now for New York to lead.

Bob Howarth is a professor at Cornell University and one of the 22 members of the New York State Climate Action Council. Steve Englebright was the lead sponsor of the CLCPA in the New York Assembly, where he served as Chair of the Oversight Committee on Environment and Conservation.