Report: State Agencies Ignoring New York’s Climate Mandates
A recent report reveals that nearly every major New York State agency is ignoring climate mandates, including four of the state’s best-funded departments.
The report, “Flouting the Law: Major State Agencies Are Ignoring New York’s Climate Mandates,” by New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) and the NY Renews Coalition, highlights these failures.
New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) commits the state to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and safeguard disadvantaged communities (DAC) from further environmental harm.
To achieve these goals, the law expressly obligates state agencies to screen their decisions for negative impacts on the climate and DACs and to ensure that 35% — with a goal of 40% — of clean energy investments go to DACs.
The Climate Act’s mandates explicitly and unambiguously apply to “all state agencies, offices, authorities, and divisions,” not just to those that have historically been tasked with environmental regulation.