The Brian Lehrer Show Gov. Hochul Hopes to Delay Implementing Climate Law
Mar 17, 2026
Jon Campbell, an Albany-based reporter for WNYC and Gothamist who covers New York state government, breaks down Gov. Hochul's push to delay the 2019 climate law. He explains progress gaps on 2030 targets, a controversial NYSERDA cost memo, political pressure from rising bills, and how data centers and electrification factor into the debate.
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Scope And Ambition Of New York's Climate Law
- New York's 2019 climate law mandates a 40% emissions cut by 2030 and 85% by 2050 across the state economy.
- Jon Campbell reports the law is ambitious but the state is far behind: only ~9% emissions reduction and ~45% renewables by the state's accounting now.
NYSERDA Memo Drives Hochul's Cost Argument
- The Hochul administration used a NYSERDA memo modeling a cap-and-invest scenario to argue the 2030 timeline would raise household energy costs significantly.
- The memo projects up to $2,300 annual costs for a NYC natural gas household and a $2.23 per-gallon gas price increase by 2031 under that scenario.
Methodology Dispute Fuels Political Backlash
- Environmentalists and some Democrats criticize the memo's methodology as cherry-picked and unrealistic because it models a cap-and-invest without cost caps.
- Senator Pete Harckham called it "completely fabricated," reflecting strong legislative pushback.