PoliticoPro: Environmentalists seethe, business groups applaud Hochul’s proposed climate changes

March 20th, 2026

The governor’s pitch to weaken New York’s climate law has support from powerful business interests and labor unions.

By: Marie J. French | 03/20/2026 – Read on PoliticoPro here.

ALBANY, New York — Gov. Kathy Hochul’s push to weaken New York’s climate law is sparking outrage from environmental groups and support — with some skepticism — from business groups.

Hochul (D) made public some details of her proposal to change the state’s 2019 climate law on Friday. That includes altering the way emissions are counted so the state wouldn’t have to move as aggressively to reduce the use of fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, and delaying a deadline for regulations to achieve the goals to 2030.

The governor plans to advance an interim 2040 target for emissions reductions, she announced Friday. But she has not offered specifics about the new goal, according to three people familiar with the negotiations who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive details.

She wants the changes done in the budget nominally due in 11 days.

Why it matters: Hochul’s proposal to legislative leaders on Thursday night — first reported by POLITICO, and expanded on by the governor in an Empire Report column — kicks off a flurry of negotiations and lobbying efforts.

The governor has said the changes need to be made because of a looming lawsuit from environmental groups she argues would force the state to impose painful costs on New Yorkers. The plaintiffs say that’s false and they’re open to a settlement.

Hochul argues that factors including the pandemic, inflation and supply chain woes, along with federal and local opposition to renewables and battery storage, has made the state’s goals more expensive. She’s recently emphasized that the climate law isn’t the driver of current cost increases but has linked her push for changes with immediate concerns about rising utility bills and gas prices.

“While I am still committed to working toward our targets, with all the stress our residents are under, New Yorkers expect their elected officials to prioritize affordability,” Hochul wrote Friday.

Reactions: Environmental groups predictably slammed the governor’s proposal. They’ve been pushing back on any changes to the 2019 climate law for months.

“The governor is looking for the Legislature to take on her dirty work. She hasn’t even tried to meet this law, it has been delay after delay,” said Liz Moran, New York policy advocate with Earthjustice.

Justin Balik, vice president for states with Evergreen Action, said the governor’s proposal should be “dead on arrival.”

The deadline for regulations to achieve the law’s emissions targets would be delayed from 2024 — which the state has already failed to meet — to 2030 in the governor’s proposal. It’s presumed that would mean implementation of a “cap and invest” pollution pricing program. Hochul once embraced that policy before delaying work on it. Such a significant delay appears to be a nonstarter for key legacy environmental groups.

“New Yorkers can’t afford to wait another four years for action,” wrote The Nature Conservancy, the New York League of Conservation Voters, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Advocates NY, the Environmental Defense Fund and WE ACT for Environmental Justice in a statement. “We urge the Legislature to keep fighting for a strong, enforceable Climate Law, including a robust near-term cap-and-invest program.”

Key business groups, meanwhile, are largely supportive of Hochul’s proposal. The Business Council of New York State backs the governor’s changes, while key labor unions including the state AFL-CIO have also supported tweaks to the law.

“This doesn’t affect the state’s investments in solar, wind, batteries, efficiency,” said Ken Pokalsky, the Business Council’s top lobbyist, outlining the arguments the group will make to lawmakers concerned about slowing down clean energy progress.

“It is just this one specific regulatory mandate in the [climate law] which I would assert is demonstrably unachievable,” he said. “So we could do a lot of economic damage trying to force the state into meeting that number.”

But others who have long called for changes to the climate law raised concerns the governor’s proposal doesn’t go far enough.

Justin Wilcox, executive director with Upstate United, which represents many upstate businesses including local chambers of commerce, called for a financial analysis of any new targets given the cost impacts already attributed to the law.

The state Department of Public Service has reported that nearly 10 percent of the average upstate National Grid residential utility bill is linked to climate policies.

“Before setting new deadlines or emissions limits, policymakers must provide a clear, honest accounting of the costs and who will bear them,” Wilcox said. “If Albany couldn’t tell New Yorkers what it would cost the first time, they shouldn’t be asking for a second chance without showing their work.”

Legislative response: In apparent recognition of Hochul’s outsize power in budget talks, even staunch champions of New York’s climate law in the Legislature appear ready to concede some ground.

State Sen. Pete Harckham (D), chair of the Environmental Conservation Committee who signed a letter earlier this month rejecting any changes, told Spectrum News he expected the governor to win some concessions.

State Assemblymember Al Stirpe, a Democrat from the Syracuse area, lambasted the governor’s approach in making this proposal, but conceded there’s room for compromise if there’s additional funding for climate action in the near term.

“This is going to be a protracted battle making the budget late,” Stirpe said. “If we can negotiate some additional funding … I think we can make some adjustments.”

Other Assembly Democrats have expressed openness to making changes as they hear major concerns about energy costs from voters. Some have backed delays of various policies to support emissions reductions, including mandates for electric vehicles and buildings.

Emissions math: The climate law requires a 40 percent cut from 1990 levels by 2030, which even supporters agree is unlikely to be achieved, and an 85 percent cut by 2050. Hochul hasn’t proposed changing the 2050 target.

But her proposal to align the state’s emissions accounting with an international framework would effectively weaken those goals. Under the method preferred by Hochul, reductions to natural gas would be less urgent.

New York is on track to achieve an estimated 58 percent reduction from the 1990 baseline by 2040 using the more standard accounting method, according to the State Energy Plan finalized in December. That’s based on current policies, while some additional actions could increase it to 65 percent.

Under the climate law’s accounting, the state is not expected to meet the 40 percent reduction target until at least 2037.

What Hochul proposes for a 2040 interim target could be a key point of negotiation.

Aligning the accounting with other states puts New York’s goals behind at least those in Washington and Massachusetts. Neighboring Massachusetts, where some Democrats unsuccessfully proposed weakening the commitments last year, has a target for a 50 percent reduction by 2030 that it is not on track to meet and a 75 percent by 2040 target.

What’s next: Opponents of changing the law plan to rally in Albany on Wednesday. The budget deadline is April 1 — although Hochul has not prioritized meeting that deadline in the past.