New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 9 - EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT › Subtitle A - Governor's Office › Chapter I - Executive Orders › Part 7 - Executive Orders (David A. Paterson) › Section 7.24 - Executive Order No. 24: Establishing a Goal to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Eighty Percent by the Year 2050 and Preparing a Climate Action Plan

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
WHEREAS, an emerging scientific consensus recognizes that
					 the increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, along with
					 other heat-trapping greenhouse gases, resulting from the combustion of fossil
					 fuels and other human sources, warms the planet and changes its climate;
					 and
WHEREAS, many scientists warn that unmitigated climate
					 change is expected to result in significant adverse impacts to our communities,
					 economy and environment; and
WHEREAS, according to the scientific assessments of the
					 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and other work,
					 substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century have the
					 potential to minimize the most severe climate change impacts currently
					 predicted; and
WHEREAS, the reduction of global warming and limitation of
					 climate change effects requires a collaborative, international effort to reduce
					 the emission of greenhouse gases around the globe; and
WHEREAS, New York and other states should work
					 collaboratively with the federal government to develop and implement plans and
					 policies that will achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the United
					 States; and
WHEREAS, expanding and advancing energy efficiency and
					 renewable energy projects will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create new
					 jobs; and
WHEREAS, New York State has demonstrated leadership in this
					 effort by undertaking actions such as:
* Executive Order No. 2 (2008): Establishing a State Energy
					 Planning Board and Authorizing the Creation and Implementation of a State
					 Energy Plan;
* Executive Order No. 4 (2008): Establishing a State Green
					 Procurement and Agency Sustainability Program;
* Creation of the Governor's Smart Growth Cabinet;
* Adoption of goals and practices for energy efficiency and
					 green building technology in State buildings, and for the use of biofuels in
					 State vehicles and buildings;
* Creation of the New York State Office of Climate Change
					 in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation;
* Participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative,
					 a ten-state cooperative effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electric
					 power plants by means of a cap and trade system;
* Creation of an Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard,
					 which is intended to reduce the State's electricity consumption by 15 percent
					 below projected levels by 2015, complementing the State's System Benefit Charge
					 and Renewable Portfolio Standard;
* The formation of a Renewable Energy Task Force and a Sea
					 Level Rise Task Force;
* Collaboration with other northeastern and mid-Atlantic
					 states on the development of a regional low carbon fuel standard;
* Establishment of a 45 x 15 Initiative, which set a goal
					 to meet 45% of New York's electricity needs through improved energy efficiency
					 and clean renewable energy by 2015;
* Adoption of regulations establishing greenhouse gas
					 exhaust emission standards for motor vehicles;
* Enactment of legislation requiring new motor vehicles to
					 bear labels disclosing information to consumers about vehicle greenhouse gas
					 emissions;
* Enactment of legislation establishing "green" residential
					 and State building programs;
* Enactment of legislation expanding the State's "net
					 metering" laws, allowing increased development of renewable energy by
					 electricity customers;
* Enactment of legislation expanding energy efficiency and
					 clean energy initiatives of the New York Power Authority to public entities;
					 and
* Investment of billions of dollars by the New York State
					 Energy Research and Development Authority, the New York Power Authority and the
					 Long Island Power Authority in existing, expanded and new energy efficiency and
					 renewable energy programs; and
WHEREAS, it is appropriate to build upon the important
					 environmental benefits obtained through these actions and to establish a
					 State-wide goal for the reduction of greenhouse gases, and to develop a plan
					 that enables New York to participate fully in the national and international
					 efforts to combat climate change.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, David A. Paterson, Governor of the State
					 of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
					 Laws of the State of New York, do hereby order as follows:
1. It shall be a goal of the State of New
				  York to reduce current greenhouse gas emissions from all sources within the
				  State eighty percent (80%) below levels emitted in the year nineteen hundred
				  ninety (1990) by the year two-thousand fifty (2050).
2. There is hereby created a Climate Action
				  Council ("Council") consisting of the Commissioners of Agriculture and Markets,
				  Economic Development, Environmental Conservation, Housing and Community
				  Renewal, and Transportation; the Chairs of the Public Service Commission, and
				  Metropolitan Transportation Authority; the Presidents of the New York State
				  Energy Research and Development Authority, Long Island Power Authority, New
				  York Power Authority and Dormitory Authority of the State of New York; the
				  Secretary of State; the Director of the Budget; the Director of State
				  Operations; and the Counsel to the Governor. The Director of State Operations
				  shall serve as the Chair of the Council.
3. The Council shall prepare a draft Climate
				  Action Plan on or before September 30, 2010. The Council shall hold regional
				  public comment hearings on the draft Plan, and shall allow at least 60 days for
				  the submission of public comment. Thereafter, the Council shall prepare a final
				  Climate Action Plan which shall be reviewed and, if warranted, adjusted
				  annually by the Council.
4. In
				  aspiring to meet the greenhouse gas emission reduction goal, the Council, in
				  preparing the Climate Action Plan, shall:
a.
				  inventory greenhouse gas emissions within the State, including the relative
				  contribution of each type of emission source;
b. identify and assess short-term and
				  long-term actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate
				  change across all economic sectors, including industry, transportation,
				  agriculture, building construction and energy production;
c. identify and analyze the anticipated
				  reductions, and the economic implications thereof, as a result of each
				  action;
d. identify the anticipated
				  life-cycle implications, consequences, benefits and costs of implementing each
				  action, including implications, consequences, benefits and costs to the State,
				  local governments, business and residents from implementation of each option
				  and action;
e. identify whether
				  such actions support New York's goals for clean energy in the new economy,
				  including specific short-term and long-term economic development opportunities
				  and disadvantages related to greenhouse gas emission reductions and the
				  development and deployment of new and emerging technologies and energy
				  sources;
f. coordinate its
				  activities with the State energy planning process of the State Energy Planning
				  Board;
g. identify existing legal,
				  regulatory and policy constraints to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,
				  assessing the impacts of climate change, and adapting to climate change, and
				  recommend ways to address any such constraints;
h. establish estimated timelines for
				  considering and implementing actions; and
i. undertake such actions, and compile such
				  additional material, as deemed appropriate by the Council in carrying out its
				  responsibilities under this Order.