New York Sets Ambitious, Net-Zero Climate Emissions Target

Jesse McKinley and Brad Plumer report:

New York lawmakers have agreed to pass a sweeping climate plan that calls for the state to all but eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, envisioning an era when gas-guzzling cars, oil-burning heaters and furnaces would be phased out, and all of the state’s electricity would come from carbon-free sources.

The so-called Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act is proceeding after an agreement between state legislative leaders and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. The actions of the legislation will target reductions of 85 percent of greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2050, offsetting the remaining 15 percent.

According to the article, "New York’s bill, which comes amid a number of Democratic presidential candidates proposing net-zero targets for the United States, would set one of the most ambitious climate targets by a legislature anywhere in the world."