An outspoken global actor in the grand theater of climate policy, New York has long insisted the transition to green energy would be cheap and straightforward.
For years, state leaders have promised aggressive emissions cuts at little cost.
Now, reality is crashing the party, and the state has been caught out in that fib.
Facing a court-imposed Friday deadline, New York has effectively conceded that its green goals would pose “costs consumers simply cannot bear.”
This admission exposes the gaps between lofty ambition and the harsh economic realities of rapid decarbonization.
The state’s 2019 climate legislation made grand, sweeping promises. It demanded 70% renewable electricity and a 40% emissions cut from 1990 levels by 2030, escalating to a zero-emission power system by 2040 and net zero economy-wide by 2050.
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