In a digital ad campaign, a national environmental organization presses New York legislators to meet the climate and clean-energy goals set in a state climate bill three years ago.
We can see the effects of climate change all around. Video campaign from the Sierra Club warns, against a backdrop of partially submerged suburban homes.
It’s a frightening sight. The campaign says roads and public transit were flooded as an L train pulled up to a subway station in the midst of a deluge from Hurricane Ida flash flooding.
The campaign aims to bring attention to the health risks posed by climate change to the public by urging New York’s legislators to approve the state’s climate Scoping Plan as required by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act was passed by New York’s legislature in July 2019. It aims to launch a broad set of measures to reduce the state’s carbon footprint and increase community resilience, according the Department of Environmental Conservation.
The passage of the bills led to the creation of the New York State Climate Action CouncilA 22-member committee that is charged with developing a Scoping Plan to help the state achieve its clean energy and climate goals.
The Council will meet December 31st Voted to release its 300-page Draft Scope Plan for public comment from January 1 through June 10 declaring intentions to release the final scoping plan by the end of the year.
However, Sierra Club activists urged legislators to move forward with their ambitious and time-bound plan sooner than later as New Yorkers continue to fight floods, heat waves, and skyrocketing utility costs.
It would be unconscionable to have a scoping plan that is delayed or only half-measured, as it has been almost three years since the last one. [law]Passed, Allison Considine (senior campaign representative for Sierra Club), said in A statement.
Considine said that Governor Hochul and the Climate Action Council must be held accountable to the New Yorkers who have spent decades breathing in polluted air and were left with no choice but to rely upon fossil fuels at great cost to the planet.
According to the draft plan, an 85-percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990s is expected by 2050. A 40-percent reduction of emissions is also anticipated by 2030. 100 percent zero emission electricity by 2040 and 70% renewable electricity by 2030 are also targets. An overview accompanying the lengthier document.
The draft plan focuses on several key strategies, including energy efficiency and transportation electrification. It also includes zero-emissions electricity and maximization of carbon sequestration in New York’s lands and forests. It also addresses the elimination of fugitive Methane emissions from waste, agriculture, and energy sectors.
These goals would be possible, according to the draft plan. It would require action across all sectors as well as crucial investments in New York’s economy. The plan estimates that between 1 million and 2 million homes will need heat pumps installed by 2030. Additionally, 3 million zero-emission vehicles will need to be sold by then.
Even after accounting for $290 billion in investment to reach the state goals, the draft plan concludes net benefits of $90 billion to $120 million.
The plan states that decarbonizing New York could result in health benefits equal to $50 billion to $120 million from 2020 to 2050.
Considine acknowledged the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act’s significance in New York’s reckoning with climate crisis. He urged state officials and elected officials to break the stranglehold that the fossil fuel sector has on energy planning and make these goals a reality.
She said that without approval of a final Scoping Plan the act will be an empty commitment.
The Hill reached out to New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation to get their comments.
