06/18/2026
New York State recently took major strides in reforming its landmark climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). As part of a broader trend to accelerate real, on-the-ground climate and clean energy progress, Energy Vision has long advocated for making legislative changes to the CLCPA to more feasibly achieve its ambitious goals, and NYS has finally followed through on most of those recommendations, seven years after passage.
Some key changes include:
- Switching from a 20-year to a 100-year Global Warming Potential (GWP) accounting framework, in line with every other jurisdiction except Maryland (which uses both).
- No longer counting biogenic CO2 emissions toward the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, following suit with the federal government, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and other leading jurisdictions around the world.
- No longer counting emissions associated with out-of-state fossil fuel production and distribution in the state’s GHG inventory, also in line with best practice.
These changes, passed as part of the annual budget law in late May, remove major obstacles to investment and set the stage for scaling up the bio-economy in NYS. In recognition of just how hard it is to decarbonize the state’s economy quickly and cost-effectively, the CLCPA’s emissions reductions goals were revised as well. Specifically, the requirement of a 40% reduction by 2030 was changed to a 60% reduction by 2040, while maintaining the goal of at least an 85% reduction by 2050.
While the CLCPA now recognizes the biogenic carbon cycle by distinguishing biogenic CO2 emissions from fossil CO2 emissions, the amended law does not specifically include the anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic waste as a form of renewable energy.
This may sound like a small detail, but it has major ramifications for AD in the state. Until/unless NYS clarifies that AD is renewable, the state likely won’t be able to directly procure renewable natural gas (RNG) for its zero-emissions electricity grid, nor will it be able to provide grants or other incentives for RNG like it does for solar, wind, etc. RNG should be part of a broader strategy to incentivize and accelerate all clean energy production and deployment across New York.
The implementation of additional rapid-decarbonization policies such as a Clean Fuel Standard, an RNG blending requirement for statewide gas supply, expanded grants and incentives for clean energy projects, and the forthcoming Cap and Invest program would further support New York in achieving its long-term climate goals.
