Environmental groups launch coalition to pressure Hochul on cap-and-invest

A coalition of nearly two dozen environmental and climate change groups are coming together to put pressure on Gov. Kathy Hochul to implement the cap-and-invest program considered necessary for New York to meet its climate goals.

The proposed cap-and-invest program would place a limit on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that major companies could produce in New York. Companies could buy a limited number of allowances to release more emissions, with the money from sales of those allowances going towards resiliency projects. The number of allowances would gradually be reduced over the coming years.

Advocates expected Hochul to provide long-awaited details about the program, including draft regulations, in her State of the State address and executive budget proposal earlier this month. But she wound up punting on the issue, barely mentioning cap-and-invest besides saying that the agencies in charge of it would “take steps forward” on the program. In the wake of that delay, her office has pointed to a $1 billion investment into climate resiliency projects, but details on how that money might actually be spent are murky at best.

That’s why environmental activists are launching the New Yorkers for Clean Air coalition to push Hochul to get the program underway with draft regulations. “We're focused on advancing the cap-and-invest program to protect clean air, invest in infrastructure, lower bills (and) hold corporations accountable,” said Justin Balik, senior state program director at Evergreen Action. “There is a wide range of both national and local stakeholders that are part of the coalition.” Other groups involved so far include the Association for Energy Affordability, the League of Conservation Voters, Environmental Advocates NY and the Acadia Center.

Interim state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Sean Mahar said on Tuesday that Hochul is not delaying the program. “Cap-and-invest is continuing to move.” he said, according to Spectrum News. “We’re prioritizing moving the reporting rules first at the governor’s direction, and that’s showing you that cap-and-invest is still an active initiative in the state that we need to get it right.” DEC and the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority are the two agencies working together on cap and invest. 

But Balik said that he and other activists see anything short of immediately publishing draft rules and opening up the process to public comment as an unnecessary delay. “We all have said that we were told that a rulemaking was going to be imminent, and it's not currently the case,” he said. Politico New York reported recently that agency staff had actually completed draft regulations earlier this month and sent them to Hochul’s office, shortly before the governor delayed their rollout.

Balik declined to comment on the politics of delay or the prospect that the draft regulations were nearly ready for publication. But he said the new Trump administration adds fresh urgency to the need for cap-and-invest. The president has already signed an executive order halting federal approval for offshore wind projects in federal waters, putting New York’s clean energy goals in peril. Trump also removed the country from the Paris Climate Agreement and promised to “drill baby, drill” to increase the country’s oil and natural gas production. 

“This is a moment that cries out for state leadership,” Balik said.