New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) announced a proposed $268 billion budget on May 7, 2026, that would change emissions reduction targets and regulatory deadlines under the state's 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). Hochul said, “an agreement has been reached with legislative leaders on key priorities.”
Under the proposed budget, lawmakers will set a requirement for 60% emissions reductions by 2040, replacing a 40% target by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. The state's 2050 goal — an 85% reduction in emissions compared to 1990 levels — would remain unchanged.
Hochul and legislative leaders also agreed to push back the deadline for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation to adopt emissions reduction regulations. The 2019 CLCPA required regulations by 2024, a deadline the state missed. In late 2025, the New York Supreme Court, the state’s main trial court rather than its highest court, ordered the department to issue regulations by early 2026 unless the law changed. The new deadline would be 2028.
The proposed agreement would also change how New York measures greenhouse gas emissions, shifting from a 20-year accounting standard to a 100-year standard. Democratic Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D) disputed Hochul's characterization of the agreement, telling reporters there is no deal and calling the announcement premature.
The agreement would increase funding for disadvantaged communities, raising their share of climate investment benefits from 35% to 40%.
The proposed budget would change how quickly New York moves toward its climate goals. Hochul said, "New York has led and will continue to lead on clean energy and climate, but reality has been harsh. We cannot meet the current timelines without driving energy costs higher. The facts bear that out, and I cannot let that happen. We have to strike the right balance between our clean energy ambitions and the affordability pressures that real New Yorkers are facing right now."
New York Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger (D) said, "Those of us living in reality know that if we do what the governor is proposing and roll back CLCPA, it will do absolutely nothing to reduce energy costs for New Yorkers," Krueger said in a March statement. "The only problem it would solve is the manufactured political crisis that the governor has created for herself."
New York Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R) said, “The only way to ensure affordable and reliable energy is to repeal the Climate Act and move forward with a new plan that is realistic.”
The CLCPA set mandatory targets for New York to achieve 85% economy-wide emissions reductions by 2050, with an interim target of 40% by 2030. The law also established goals to meet 70% of the state's electricity needs through renewable energy by 2030 and 100% zero-emissions electricity by 2040.
Twenty-nine Democratic state senators sent a letter to Hochul in March stating they "categorically oppose any effort to roll back New York's nation-leading climate law."
According to the Climate Policy Dashboard, 25 states have adopted statewide greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.
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