Not 'any appetite' for Climate Act changes after court ruling, Krueger says

And redistricting in New York could now happen in 2026 if a new lawsuit is successful.

Good afternoon — It’s Monday and American Beer Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• Hochul said Monday she’ll sit down with the Legislature to discuss changes to the Climate Act but a top lawmaker says that’s a nonstarter.

• Democrats in the state Senate are ready to redraw New York’s districts in Congress if a new lawsuit filed Monday forces that result.

• Eight more bills were signed by Hochul on Monday.

• President Donald J. Trump gave an early endorsement to three Republicans in races for Congress in New York.

Names in today’s CapCon: Julian Schreibman, Liz Krueger, Kathy Hochul, Nicole Malliotakis, Ed Cox, Michael Gianaris, Nick Langworthy, Claudia Tenney

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State Sen. Liz Krueger (Will Waldron/Times Union)

🗣️ Krueger says there ‘no appetite’ to amend New York’s Climate Act after court ruling

New York was ordered by a state judge on Friday to produce a set of long-awaited regulations to implement the state’s Climate Act.

The 2019 law — formally known as the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act — requires New York to produce more of its energy from renewable sources while lowering emissions from fossil fuels over the next two and a half decades.

It’s the reason why New York has aggressively pursued renewable energy projects over the last five years while offering incentives for consumers to electrify their homes and commute.

The state was supposed to promulgate a set of regulations that would set New York on a course to meet those mandates by Jan. 1, 2024. That hasn’t happened.

Those regulations are required for the state to implement its cap-and-invest program, which would reduce the amount of emissions allowed in New York. Large polluters would have to pay the state for permission to produce those emissions.

So a coalition of advocacy groups sued the state to force the release of those regulations. The state judge sided with them on Friday and ordered the state to produce them by Feb. 6.

The regulations are long overdue, wrote state Supreme Court Justice Julian Schreibman, and the state’s deadline to produce them is in statute. That means it can’t change without an amendment to state law.

“lf legislative action modifies DEC’s obligations under the Climate Act, DEC will act in accordance therewith,” Schreibman wrote.

Hochul on Monday (New York Governor’s Office)

🖋️ What’s next after the judge’s ruling

Lawmakers would have to change the Climate Act to allow the state Department of Environmental Conservation to continue its regulatory delay, Schreibman wrote.

Several Democrats in the state Legislature voted for the law when it was approved in 2019 and many have repeatedly defended its requirements.

That includes state Sen. Liz Krueger, a Democrat from Manhattan who chairs the Senate Finance Committee and is considered one of the most influential members of the chamber.

Krueger said Monday that she doesn’t see a scenario in which Democrats in the state Senate would agree to delay the law’s deadlines.