Climate Change Regulations Issued Under New York Climate Leadership And Community Protection Act

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has issued a series of regulations – both proposed and final – to implement the 2019 New York Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which sets ambitious goals to work towards economy-wide carbon neutrality for New York. This article examines two such regulations: revisions to the existing hydrofluorocarbon standards and reporting, and mandatory greenhouse gas reporting.

New York Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act

The New York Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act requires a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions¹ statewide by 40% by 2030 and 85% by 2050 from 1990 levels.² It created the Climate Action Council, a group that was tasked with developing a scoping plan to set forth recommendations for how the state would be able to achieve these statewide greenhouse gas emission limits.³ In December 2022, the council released its final scoping plan, an extensive document that