2023 New York Laws › ENV - Environmental Conservation › Article 75 - Climate Change › 75-0103 - New York State Climate Action Council.

§ 75-0103. New York state climate action council.
1.  There  is  hereby  established  the  New York state climate action
  council ("council") which shall  consist  of  the  following  twenty-two
  members:
a.  the commissioners of transportation, health, economic development,
  agriculture and markets, housing and  community  renewal,  environmental
  conservation,  labor,  the chairperson of the public service commission,
  the presidents of the New York state  energy  research  and  development
  authority;  New  York  power authority; Long Island power authority; the
  secretary of state, or their designees.
b. two non-agency expert members appointed by the governor;
c. three members to be appointed by the  temporary  president  of  the
  senate;
d. three members to be appointed by the speaker of the assembly;
e.  one  member  to be appointed by the minority leader of the senate;
  and
f. one member to be appointed by the minority leader of the assembly.
2. The at large members shall include at all  times  individuals  with
  expertise  in  issues  relating  to  climate  change  mitigation  and/or
  adaptation, such as environmental  justice,  labor,  public  health  and
  regulated industries.
3.  Council  members  shall receive no compensation for their services
  but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary  expenses  incurred  in
  the performance of their duties.
4.  The  co-chairpersons  of  the council shall be the commissioner of
  environmental conservation and the  president  of  the  New  York  state
  energy research and development authority or their designee.
5.  Each  member  of  the  council  shall be entitled to one vote. The
  council's approval and adoption of the final scoping  plan  pursuant  to
  this  section, and any subsequent interim updates thereto, shall require
  a supermajority of the council. No action may be taken  by  the  council
  unless  there is a quorum, which shall at all times be a majority of the
  members of the council.
6. Any vacancies on the council shall be filled in the manner provided
  for the initial appointment.
7.  The  council  shall  convene  advisory  panels  requiring  special
  expertise  and,  at  a  minimum,  shall  establish  advisory  panels  on
  transportation, energy intensive and trade-exposed industries,  land-use
  and  local  government, energy efficiency and housing, power generation,
  and agriculture and forestry. The purpose of the advisory  panels  shall
  be  to provide recommendations to the council on specific topics, in its
  preparation of the scoping plan, and  interim  updates  to  the  scoping
  plan, and in fulfilling the council's ongoing duties.
a. Each advisory panel shall be chaired by the relevant agency head or
  his  or  her  designee.  The council may convene and dissolve additional
  advisory  panels,  in  its  sole  discretion,  and   pursuant   to   the
  requirements herein.
b.  Advisory  panels  shall  be  comprised of no more than five voting
  members. The council  shall  elect  advisory  panel  members,  and  such
  membership   shall  at  all  times  represent  individuals  with  direct
  involvement or expertise in matters to  be  addressed  by  the  advisory
  panels pursuant to this section.
c.  Advisory  panels  shall  work  directly  with  the  council on the
  preparation of the scoping plan pursuant to this section. Each  advisory
  panel shall coordinate with the environmental justice advisory group and
  climate justice working group.
d.  All  agencies  of  the  state  or subdivisions thereof may, at the
  request of any such advisory panel or the council, provide the  advisory

  panel with such facilities, assistance, and data as will enable advisory
  panels to carry out their powers and duties.
8.  The  council  shall  convene  a just transition working group. The
  working group shall be chaired by the  commissioner  of  labor  and  the
  president  of  the  New  York  state  energy  research  and  development
  authority and shall consist of no less than thirteen, but no  more  than
  seventeen  members  and  shall  include the commissioners of housing and
  community renewal, the  chair  of  the  department  of  public  service,
  representatives of environmental justice communities and representatives
  of  labor  organizations,  clean  energy  developers  and  at least five
  representatives  of  distinct  energy-intensive  industries.  The   just
  transition working group shall:
a.  advise  the  council  on  issues  and  opportunities for workforce
  development  and  training  related  to  energy   efficiency   measures,
  renewable  energy  and  other  clean  energy technologies, with specific
  focus  on  training  and  workforce  opportunities   for   disadvantaged
  communities, and segments of the population that may be underrepresented
  in  the  clean  energy  workforce  such  as veterans, women and formerly
  incarcerated persons;
b.  identify  energy-intensive  industries  and  related  trades   and
  identify  sector  specific  impacts of the state's current workforce and
  avenues to maximize the skills and expertise of New York  state  workers
  in the new energy economy;
c. identify sites of electric generating facilities that may be closed
  as  a result of a transition to a clean energy sector and the issues and
  opportunities presented by reuse of those sites;
d. with respect  to  potential  for  greenhouse  gas  emission  limits
  developed  by  the  department of environmental conservation pursuant to
  this article, advise the council on  the  potential  impacts  of  carbon
  leakage  risk  on  New York state industries and local host communities,
  including the impact of any potential carbon reduction measures  on  the
  competitiveness of New York state business and industry;
e.  advise  the  council and conduct stakeholder outreach on any other
  workforce matters directed by the council; and
f. at a time frame determined by  the  council,  prepare  and  publish
  recommendations   to   the   council  on  how  to  address:  issues  and
  opportunities  related  to  the   energy-intensive   and   trade-exposed
  entities;    workforce    development    for   trade-exposed   entities,
  disadvantaged  communities  and   underrepresented   segments   of   the
  population;  measures  to  minimize the carbon leakage risk and minimize
  anti-competitiveness impacts of any potential carbon policies and energy
  sector mandates.
g. The just transition working group is hereby authorized and directed
  to conduct a study of and report on:
i. The number of jobs created to counter climate change,  which  shall
  include  but  not  be  limited  to  the  energy sector, building sector,
  transportation sector, and working lands sector;
ii. The projection of the inventory of jobs needed and the skills  and
  training  required to meet the demand of jobs to counter climate change;
  and
iii. Workforce disruption due to  community  transitions  from  a  low
  carbon economy.
9.  The  department  and  the  New  York  state  energy  research  and
  development authority shall provide the council  with  such  facilities,
  assistance  and  data as will enable the council to carry out its powers
  and  duties.    Additionally,  all  other  agencies  of  the  state   or
  subdivisions thereof may, at the request of the co-chairpersons, provide

  the  council  with  such facilities, assistance, and data as will enable
  the council to carry out its powers and duties.
10.  The  council shall consult with the climate justice working group
  established in section 75-0111 of this article, the department of  state
  utility  intervention  unit,  and the federally designated electric bulk
  system operator.
11. The council shall on or before two years of the effective date  of
  this   article,  prepare  and  approve  a  scoping  plan  outlining  the
  recommendations for attaining the  statewide  greenhouse  gas  emissions
  limits in accordance with the schedule established in section 75-0107 of
  this  article,  and  for  the  reduction of emissions beyond eighty-five
  percent, net zero emissions in all sectors of the economy,  which  shall
  inform the state energy planning board's adoption of a state energy plan
  in  accordance  with  section  6-104  of the energy law. The first state
  energy plan issued subsequent to completion of the scoping plan required
  by this section shall incorporate the recommendations of the council.
12. The draft scoping plan shall be developed in consultation with the
  environmental justice advisory group, and the  climate  justice  working
  group  established pursuant to section 75-0111 of this article and other
  stakeholders.
a. The council  shall  hold  at  least  six  regional  public  comment
  hearings  on  the  draft  scoping  plan, including three meetings in the
  upstate region and three meetings in the  downstate  region,  and  shall
  allow  at  least  one  hundred  twenty days for the submission of public
  comment.
b. The council  shall  provide  meaningful  opportunities  for  public
  comment from all segments of the population that will be impacted by the
  plan,   including   persons   living  in  disadvantaged  communities  as
  identified pursuant to section 75-0111 of this article.
c. On or before three years of the effective date of this article, the
  council shall submit the final scoping plan to the governor, the speaker
  of the assembly and the temporary president of the senate and post  such
  plan on its website.
13.  The  scoping  plan  shall  identify  and  make recommendations on
  regulatory measures  and  other  state  actions  that  will  ensure  the
  attainment  of the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limits established
  pursuant to section 75-0107 of this article. The  measures  and  actions
  considered in such scoping plan shall at a minimum include:
a.   Performance-based   standards   for  sources  of  greenhouse  gas
  emissions, including but not limited to sources in  the  transportation,
  building, industrial, commercial, and agricultural sectors.
b.  Measures  to  reduce  emissions  from  the  electricity  sector by
  displacing fossil-fuel fired electricity with renewable  electricity  or
  energy efficiency.
c.  Land-use  and  transportation  planning measures aimed at reducing
  greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.
d. Measures to achieve long-term carbon sequestration  and/or  promote
  best management practices in land use, agriculture and forestry.
e.  Measures  to  achieve  six  gigawatts  of distributed solar energy
  capacity installed in  the  state  by  two  thousand  twenty-five,  nine
  gigawatts   of   offshore   wind  capacity  installed  by  two  thousand
  thirty-five,  a  statewide  energy  efficiency  goal  of   one   hundred
  eighty-five trillion British thermal units energy reduction from the two
  thousand  twenty-five  forecast; and three gigawatts of statewide energy
  storage capacity by two thousand thirty.
f. Measures to promote the beneficial electrification of personal  and
  freight   transport  and  other  strategies  to  reduce  greenhouse  gas
  emissions from the transportation sector.
g.  Measures  to  achieve  reductions  in  energy  use   in   existing
  residential   or   commercial   buildings,   including   the  beneficial
  electrification of water and space heating  in  buildings,  establishing
  appliance  efficiency  standards,  strengthening  building energy codes,
  requiring   annual   building  energy  benchmarking,  disclosing  energy
  efficiency in home sales, and expanding the ability of state  facilities
  to utilize performance contracting.
h. Recommendations to aid in the transition of the state workforce and
  the rapidly emerging clean energy industry.
i.  Measures  to  achieve  healthy  forests that support clean air and
  water, biodiversity, and sequester carbon.
j. Measures to limit the use of chemicals, substances or products that
  contribute to global climate change when released to the atmosphere, but
  are not intended for end-use combustion.
k. Mechanisms to limit emission  leakage  as  defined  in  subdivision
  eleven of section 75-0101 of this article.
l. Verifiable, enforceable and voluntary emissions reduction measures.
14. In developing such plan the council shall:
a.  Consider  all  relevant  information  pertaining to greenhouse gas
  emissions reduction programs in states  in  the  United  States  Climate
  Alliance, as well as other states, regions, localities, and nations.
b.  Evaluate,  using  the  best  available  economic  models, emission
  estimation techniques and other scientific methods, the total  potential
  costs  and  potential economic and non-economic benefits of the plan for
  reducing greenhouse gases, and make such evaluation publicly  available.
  In conducting this evaluation, the council shall quantify:
i.  The  economic  and  social  benefits  of  greenhouse gas emissions
  reductions, taking into account the value of carbon, established by  the
  department  pursuant to section 75-0113 of this article, any other tools
  that the council deems useful and pertinent for this analysis,  and  any
  environmental,  economic  and  public  health  co-benefits  (such as the
  reduction of co-pollutants and the diversification of  energy  sources);
  and
ii.  The  costs of implementing proposed emissions reduction measures,
  and the emissions reductions  that  the  council  anticipates  achieving
  through these measures.
c.  Take  into  account  the  relative  contribution of each source or
  source category to statewide greenhouse gas emissions, and the potential
  for adverse effects on small businesses,  and  recommend  a  de  minimis
  threshold  of  greenhouse  gas  emissions below which emission reduction
  requirements will not apply.
d. Identify measures to maximize reductions  of  both  greenhouse  gas
  emissions  and  co-pollutants in disadvantaged communities as identified
  pursuant to section 75-0111 of this article.
15. The council shall update its  plan  for  achieving  the  statewide
  greenhouse gas emissions limits at least once every five years and shall
  make such updates available to the governor, the speaker of the assembly
  and  the  temporary president of the senate and post such updates on its
  website.
16. The council shall identify existing climate change mitigation  and
  adaptation  efforts at the federal, state, and local levels and may make
  recommendations regarding how such  policies  may  improve  the  state's
  efforts.
17.  The  council shall maintain a website that includes public access
  to the scoping plan and greenhouse gas limit information.