New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 9 - EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT › Subtitle A - Governor's Office › Chapter I - Executive Orders › Part 8 - Executive Orders (Andrew M. Cuomo) › Section 8.166 - Executive Order No. 166: Redoubling New York's Fight Against the Economic and Environmental Threats Posed by Climate Change and Affirming the Goals of the Paris Climate Agreement

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
WHEREAS, the federal government's withdrawal from the
					 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's Paris Agreement (Paris
					 Agreement), adopted on December 12, 2015, represents an abdication of
					 leadership on climate change that threatens the environmental and economic
					 health of all New Yorkers; and
WHEREAS, New Yorkers have witnessed firsthand the damaging
					 effects of climate change, including severe storm events, rising sea levels,
					 droughts, and electricity outages that cause both environmental and economic
					 harm; and
WHEREAS, I, Andrew M. Cuomo have previously issued
					 executive orders that call for greenhouse gas emission reductions totaling
					 eighty percent by 2050; and
WHEREAS, in recognition of the challenges posed by climate
					 change and the economic opportunities created by the clean energy economy, New
					 York has adopted a State Energy Plan that establishes nation-leading climate
					 and clean energy goals, including a forty percent reduction in greenhouse gas
					 emissions from 1990 levels by 2030, a commitment to source fifty percent of New
					 York's electricity from renewables by 2030, and a twenty-three percent increase
					 in energy efficiency by 2030; and
WHEREAS, New York has already committed to aggressive
					 investments and initiatives to turn the State Energy Plan goals into action
					 through its Clean Energy Standard program, the $5 Billion Clean Energy Fund,
					 the $1 Billion NY-Sun solar program, the nation's largest Green Bank, and
					 unprecedented reforms to make the electricity grid more resilient, reliable,
					 and affordable; and
WHEREAS, New York State is engaged in greenhouse gas
					 reduction activities throughout the state's economy, including through the
					 issuance of the Methane Reduction Plan and participation in regional
					 collaborations seeking greenhouse gas emissions reductions including the
					 Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative ("RGGI") and the Transportation and Climate
					 Initiative ("TCI"); and
WHEREAS, New York's State Energy Plan goals and actions are
					 even more aggressive and ambitious than the agreement executed by the United
					 States implementing the terms of the Paris Agreement and ensure that New York
					 will be a leader in achieving the goals for our nation that had been embodied
					 in the Paris Agreement; and
WHEREAS, in addition to our leading efforts to reduce
					 greenhouse gas emissions and advance the clean energy economy, the state has
					 prioritized investments in helping communities adapt to the changing climate by
					 advancing programs, such as Climate Smart New York, to improve resiliency,
					 protect important habitats and natural infrastructure, and plan for our
					 uncertain future; and
WHEREAS, these efforts have included using natural sources
					 like oyster reefs and living shorelines to protect New York's hundreds of miles
					 of coastlines, investing millions of dollars through the Environmental
					 Protection fund, adopting the Climate Risk and Resiliency Act to ensure that
					 funding and permits take storm surge and sea level rise into account, and
					 issuing an Ocean Action Plan in 2016, which recognizes the detrimental impacts
					 climate change is having on our critical marine resources, including our
					 multimillion dollar shellfishery industry; and
WHEREAS, notwithstanding the United States federal
					 government's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, it is essential that states
					 such as New York, working with all concerned organizations, businesses and
					 citizens, continue to fulfill, uphold, and even exceed the objectives of the
					 Paris Agreement; and
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State
					 of New York, by virtue of the authority invested in me by the Constitution and
					 the Laws of the State of New York, do hereby order as follows:
I.
DEFINITION
For the purposes of this Executive Order, the following
					 term is defined as follows:
A.
				  "Affected State Entities" means
(i) all
				  agencies and departments over which the Governor has Executive Authority, and
(ii) all public-benefit
				  corporations, public authorities and commissions, for which the Governor
				  appoints the Chair, the Chief Executive, or the majority of Board Members,
				  except for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.