Hochul Moves to Weaken Aggressive New York State Climate Law (1) (1)

March 20, 2026, 6:12 PM UTC

Citing concerns about affordability, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed revising the state’s 2019 climate law, asking to delay regulations to implement it by several years and to adopt a different greenhouse-gas accounting method.

The changes would effectively water down a law viewed as one of the most ambitious state climate policies in the US.

Hochul called the law’s current targets “costly and unattainable” in a statement released Friday. “This is solely out of necessity — to protect New Yorkers’ pocketbooks and economy,” she said.

The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) targets a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions ...

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