UPDATE (06/02/26) 

Following a proposal in March to implement formal changes to New York’s 2019 climate law, Governor Kathy Hochul’s revisions were formalized and ultimately included in the state budget agreement last week.  

The changes extend the 2030 emission mandate to 2040, with the goal of achieving a 60 percent reduction from 1990 levels. The budget also delays implementation of key emissions reduction regulations until the end of 2028.  

At the same time, Hochul secured an additional $1 billion for climate initiatives, much of which is earmarked for decarbonization and renewable energy programs, rather than investments aimed at expanding affordable and reliable energy supplies.  

Hochul touted the changes as evidence of her focus on affordability amidst her reelection campaign, arguing that New Yorkers cannot absorb additional energy costs while still pursuing the state’s climate goals. 

As she previously said:  

“What I’m saying is, I’m trying to stop their utility bills from going higher. I have to focus on the fact that people in our state are getting slammed and they need relief. There’s a way to get where we need to, just in a different time frame.”  

Here’s where that messaging becomes contradictory.  

While the governor is citing affordability concerns to justify slowing part of the state’s climate agenda, she continues to defend policies that have limited access to affordable energy for decades. Most notably, Hochul has doubled down on New York’s fracking ban, rejecting calls to reconsider the policy despite the state’s significant natural gas resources and the economic benefits seen in Pennsylvania. 

That contradiction extends beyond the fracking ban itself. For more than a decade, New York policymakers and regulators have also stood in the way of critical energy infrastructure projects that could have expanded access to natural gas supplies. The most prominent example was the Constitution Pipeline, a project opposed by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) through permitting decisions and legal action, ultimately contributing to its cancellation after years of regulatory delays and litigation. The state’s environmental regulators even defended those decisions through prolonged court battles, helping block a project that would have delivered additional natural gas to New York and New England consumers. 

Which is it? If affordability is truly the priority, it is difficult to ignore the role that both the fracking ban and the state’s opposition to infrastructure have played in constraining supply and driving up energy costs. As Energy in Depth has previously analyzed, the ban has long been a contributor to the state’s high energy costs.  

On a wider scale, as geopolitical conflicts cause global energy disruptions, there has never been a better time to prioritize domestic energy production and protect national security. Is Governor Hochul prepared to take all the necessary steps to truly prioritize affordability and address New Yorkers’ cost concerns?  

It seems doubtful.  

ORIGINAL POST (03/18/2026) 

New York’s aggressive climate policies are colliding with a harsh reality: the cost to consumers.

Case in point: the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act signed into law by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2019. The sweeping climate law requires significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, full net-zero by 2050, and mandates 70 percent of the Empire State’s electricity come from renewables by 2030.

While environmental activists hailed it as landmark climate legislation, it’s been making headlines recently because passing the bill proved a lot easier than implementing it. Governor Kathy Hochul, who was Cuomo’s lieutenant governor when the bill was signed, is claiming “there were so many unforeseen factors” and only now acknowledging “there’s going to be enormous costs” for consumers if the state is forced to enforce the law. In fact, a recent state-issued memo found that New York City households using natural gas could face $2,300 in additional costs annually under the law.

But the sudden concern for constituents’ wallets is uncannily reminiscent of the Cuomo administration blocking every natural gas pipeline deemed critical to meet growing demand and then turning around and threatening to revoke licenses when utilities were forced to issue moratoriums on new hook-ups because they didn’t have access to enough natural gas to add new customers.

Unlike her former boss, Gov. Hochul appears to understand that in order to change the outcome, you have to address the problem head-on and has confirmed she wants to rewrite the law. Because as she explained in recent comments, in order to meet the goals within the timeline currently set by the legislature:

“There’s going to be enormous costs to families.”

This moment where misguided policy meets a reality where consumers face skyrocketing prices didn’t happen overnight though. It’s been building for more than a decade and continues even with bills introduced in the current legislative session.

Read more on EID Climate.