Pirate's Cove

I wonder what could have brought this on?

Gov. Hochul Ponders a Relaxation of Goals Under New York’s Landmark Climate Law

After state officials admitted last month that New York State will likely miss a key deadline required by its ambitious 2019 climate law, business groups have seized the moment to lobby Gov. Kathy Hochul to relax the law’s basic mandates.

And Hochul sounds receptive to the idea.

“The costs have gone up so much I now have to say, ‘What is the cost on the typical New York family?’” the governor said in a recent TV interview. “The goals are still worthy. But we have to think about the collateral damage of these decisions. Either mitigate them or rethink them.”

The costs, eh? I was told that costs would come down from investing in and building all this green energy. No? Instead we’re getting collateral damage?

But that’s not going to happen, the state Public Service Commission (PSC) admitted in a draft report July 1. That 70 percent renewables target will not be met before 2033, it said.

Two weeks later, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a blistering audit that criticized the PSC and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) for using outdated data in required CLCPA projections. It also said the PSC had failed to estimate the costs of the transition to renewables or to specify ways to cover those costs beyond loading them on ratepayers.

In other words, the report was complete mule fritters designed to deceive.

Robert Howarth, a Cornell University climate scientist, takes a different view.

“I am appalled at this pushback against the CLCPA by business interests pushing their short-sighted agenda,” Howarth told WaterFront. “Climate change is very real. The consequences of climate disruption (floods, droughts, fires, crop failures) are becoming increasingly obvious to all.

He can be appalled all he wants: he gets paid regardless by the taxpayers, and the union can push for and demand raises that the private sector cannot afford.

“The passage of time does not change the law and it doesn’t make the climate crisis magically disappear,” state Sen. Liz Krueger, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, posted on X (formerly Twitter) after Hochul’s TV interview was aired July 18. “We are dangerously behind on the science-based mandates in CLCPA. It’s time to redouble our efforts, and build a more affordable, healthier, livable future for New Yorkers.”

1st, the whole push for green energy has increased costs, not decreased them. Second, has she considered asking the citizens of NY? What do they think?

Anyhow, renewable projects have been cancelled, which hurts the push (because the costs have gotten too high). The sale of EVs have stalled out (because those who wanted them got them, and the rest find them too expensive or inconvenient). And the state needs more and more energy, and green energy cannot compete.

So the costs to achieve CLCPA’s mandates are both rising and uncertain.

“I can’t do things without knowing the cost on consumers in either educating them that they believe this is the way to go because it’s good for the future … or making it go just a little bit slower,” the governor said.

I’ve said many times that every experiment needs an experimental group, and we’re seeing that his experimental group is not doing well when reality intrudes.