The Climate Left Rolls Over Kathy Hochul

If there was any doubt that progressives run Albany, witness Gov. Kathy Hochul’s capitulation this week to green activists. She dropped a proposal in budget negotiations that would have modestly eased energy costs that are set to soar under the state’s new climate law.

New York’s 2019 climate statute requires the state to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and 85% below 1990 levels by 2050. The kicker is that a devious provision in the law requires methane emissions be accounted for over 20 years rather than the standard 100-year horizon used by most states and countries.