Governor Hochul Becomes Nation's Only Governor to Weaken State's Climate Law

ALBANY, NY (05/26/2026) (readMedia)-- Today, as budget bills are being printed, Governor Hochul's language to weaken the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act is finally public. In response, Liz Moran, New York Policy Advocate at Earthjustice, issued the following statement:

"1 in 4 New Yorkers already can't afford their energy bills, and our continued dependence on oil and gas continues to drive energy prices through the roof. But rather than deal with this reality, Governor Hochul manufactured an election year crisis in order to weaken our once nation-leading Climate Law, the best tool we have against skyrocketing gas and energy prices. The bill language confirms that the Governor is intent on evading accountability and delaying action.

Make no mistake: Governor Hochul stands alone as the only governor in the country to weaken their state's climate laws, even as other states and countries around the world double down on clean energy solutions. New Yorkers need a right now solution to the affordability crisis gripping the state, not a retreat from the policies meant to help them."

Earthjustice held a press availability on zoom at 12:30 today to share reactions, break down the Governor's changes, and answer questions. Watch here.

Background

In April, Governor Hochul kicked off her chaotic, manufactured election year crisis with a paltry 3 page memo that misrepresented the Climate Law and spread misleading information about implementation costs. Elected officials and advocates have repeatedly debunked the memo.

Following the memo's release, the Governor made a series of contradictory and misleading excuses for why she wants to weaken New York's climate commitments, all while trying to portray herself as a climate champion. She suggested that New Yorkers are overpaying for energy because of the CLCPA and that amending the law will save New Yorkers money in the short-term, then later admitted that was "false." She even cited the war in Iran as an excuse to roll back the CLCPA, claiming it would somehow "protect consumers" whose energy bills are higher than ever because of New York's reliance on fossil fuels.

Hochul's hard pivot to embrace fossil fuels comes as a recent poll of competitive districts in New York showed 55% of all respondents and 74% of Democrats would be more likely to vote for a state lawmaker who voted to continue implementing New York's clean energy laws. The Governor still maintains that she is a "climate leader," even though her actions tell a clear opposite story. Since she became governor, she has actively undone positive climate policies and canceled billions in necessary investments that would have fought climate change and lowered New Yorkers' energy bills.

Here's a nearly exhaustive list:

• Hochul forces state to greenlight NESE pipeline after making a deal with Trump, despite state regulators having previously rejected it three times. She then skipped out on MAGA's celebratory groundbreaking
• Hochul pre-emptively delays New York's all-electric building law, caving to lawsuit from gas and construction groups
• Hochul approves air permit for infamous Greenidge cryptomining plant, after her own state agency previously denied it
• Hochul's hand-picked NYPA chair cuts 1.5GW from final public renewables plan despite overwhelming pushback, paving way for more fossil fuel development
• Hochul cancels NYC PPTN (offshore wind transmission line)
• Hochul cancels Clean Path transmission project
• Hochul sued for backing down on CLCPA
• Hochul violates CLCPA by failing to promulgate regulations within five years of the law's passage after delaying the Cap and Invest program
• Hochul adopts an "all of the above" approach to energy generation in the 2026 draft energy plan, which includes more gas production.
• Hochul defunds the NYSUN program, which provided funding for rooftop solar installation
• Hochul rolls back the Empower+ program, which helps more than 70,000 low-income households lower their energy bills
• Hochul moves forward with development of advanced nuclear generation, ordering NYPA to develop 1GW of nuclear energy
• Hochul decides to cancel renewable energy generation contracts that asked for increases due to inflation / supply chain congestion
• Hochul delays and then rolls back tolls for congestion pricing
• Back in 2023, Hochul made her first attempt to roll back how the state accounts for methane emissions under the climate law, which would make gas appear cleaner overnight
• Hochul energy plan caters to corporate-owned AI data centers that will drive up energy use and bills, potentially prolonging fossil fuel generation. Despite claiming she wants data centers to pay their fair share, she has yet to propose any real policy to require it.
• Hochul increasingly relying on proposed nuclear plants that, even if built, would not go online for a decade or more, even if she has supposedly cut a deal with Trump to avoid red tape around them
• Hochul approved the state's first major fossil fuel project in ten years: Iroquois Pipeline Company's proposal to increase the capacity of polluting compressor stations in Athens and in Dover and expand the amount of fracked gas transported to New York City.

Here are the facts:

• Hochul's myth: "It also was passed before the return of climate change denier Donald Trump to the White House."
  • The truth: The CLCPA was passed in 2019 during Trump 1.0 to protect New Yorkers against Trump's pro-fossil fuel administration accelerating climate change and jacking up energy prices. Now, during Trump 2.0 he's raising prices even more. But instead of using the tool Hochul already has to protect New Yorkers, she is trying to roll it back and do nothing.
• Hochul's myth: "I have yet to hear how we are supposed to move forward without changes to the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act when we are up against a president who has vowed to block all new offshore wind projects and has repeatedly tried to kill the ones already under construction, including two here in New York."
  • The truth: There are numerous ways Hochul could move New York closer toward the goals of the climate law, including tools that governors of other states, red and blue, are employing right now, under Trump. See them here and listed below.
• Hochul's myth: "I have fought back at every turn. I protected our offshore wind projects. I defended congestion pricing. And when I was pressured to allow fracking in New York, I said no."
  • The truth: We'll give Hochul her props for successfully defending our offshore wind projects. But "fought back at every turn?" See the list above. And the fracking ban is law in New York, which the governor cannot simply and unilaterally overturn, no matter what Trump wants or Hochul says.
• Hochul's myth: "If we do not win our appeal and we do nothing to change the law, the outcome is clear: higher energy bills. Higher costs passed down to families. A grid stretched too thin."
  • The truth: The status quo is already raising energy bills, passing down higher costs to families, and stretching the grid too thin. The climate law is the best tool we have to reduce energy bills and downstream costs and upgrade the grid. Governor Hochul has broad discretion to choose how to implement the CLCPA, and no costs will automatically be imposed under any court ruling. See below or here for numerous examples of how Governor Hochul could do this.
• Hochul's myth: "That is why I am working with the Legislature to make targeted, common-sense updates to the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Not to walk away from our targets, but to make sure we reach them. Not to lower our ambition, but to make sure we can reach it."
  • The truth: The legislature understands that Hochul's proposals amount to her doing nothing at all. Hochul's proposal to change the methane accounting formula is literally lowering ambition.
• Hochul's myth: "Other states are confronting the same reality. They are adjusting because they understand the path to success is not a straight line."
  • The truth: Many other states, blue and red, are making positive climate progress. Again, see below or here.

As Governor Hochul doubles down on fossil fuels, New Yorkers are paying record-breaking prices and oil companies are making record-breaking profits. According to NYSERDA, compared to this time last year, New Yorkers are paying:

• 38% more for gasoline
• 50.9% more for diesel
• 35.1% more for home heating oil

Meanwhile, other countries around the world are responding to this crisis by investing heavily in renewables. To note just a few examples:

• France is banning new gas heating systems, nearly doubling support for electrification from 5.5 billion euros to 10 billion in the next four years, and heavily subsidizing EVs.
• South Korea is accelerating their roadmap to develop 100 GW of renewables by 2030.
• The United Kingdom is substantially reducing its dependence on gas (39% lower in March 2026 compared to March 2021) and saving 7 million pounds per day on gas purchases while adding 55 GW in solar and wind capacity over the past 5 years.

Here in the U.S., many Red and Blue states are also proving that even under Trump, we can make progress. For instance:

• Virginia has adopted a flurry of clean energy reforms, including:
  • Legalizing plug-in solar (which New York can also do by passing the SUNNY Act)
  • Increasing procurement requirements for rooftop solar from 1 to 5%
  • Increased procurement targets for energy storage - including 4.5 GW of long-duration storage
  • Requirements to quantify grid utilization and adoption of grid-enhancing technologies, and a requirement to add storage at existing solar projects.
• California has added 12 GW of renewable power in the past 5 years
  • Following grid strains brought on by climate-driven wildfire and extreme heat, California set aggressive procurement targets that drove a record-breaking buildout of battery-storage. Batteries are now able to supply 43% of evening peak energy demand, more than twice the energy supplied by natural gas. The pace of growth has accelerated.
• Texas has quadrupled its battery storage additions in the last 3 years, adding over 10 GW of batteries
• Illinois has increased procurement targets both for renewables and for storage, boosted energy efficiency programs, and created a major new framework to expand Virtual Power Plants.

Even here in New York, renewables have been more reliable than fossil fuels. In December 2022, Winter Storm Elliott resulted in power outages due to failing infrastructure. Gas supply was plentiful, but wells and pipes froze, and cold temperatures affected equipment at fossil fuel power plants. The system similarly struggles during heatwaves, leading the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) to admit that during the June 2025 heatwave, solar and wind outperformed fossil fuels.

If Governor Hochul instead invested in financing the transition to renewable energy, we could lower costs now for the majority of households while making the downpayment that will shield us from future price shocks. Multiple studies draw this conclusion. A strong Cap and Invest program would yield $6.9 billion in net savings for households earning up to $200,000, or $1,060 per household, over the first decade.

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