The US state of New York on Thursday released a new State Energy Plan, a “comprehensive roadmap” to help it achieve the most ambitious GHG reduction targets in the country.

Some highlights of the plan:

• Requires New York to reduce GHGs across all sectors to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 on the way to meeting an 80% cut by 2050. California’s governor last month called for the same target for his state, for which lawmakers are on course to approve it by October.
• Mandates state electricity providers to produce half of their generation from renewable sources by 2030 – including solar, wind, hydroelectric, and biomass. The state currently has a 30% renewable energy standard.
• Aims to decrease energy consumption in buildings to 23% below 2012 levels, the equivalent of 600 trillion Btu.
• Makes no specific provision for using a cap-and-trade mechanism to reduce economy-wide emissions, but does note that “further adjustments” could have to be made to the RGGI program to help the state’s power sector meet the new objectives as well as those set out in the EPA’s Clean Power Plan slated to be finalized later this summer.

FACTFILE:

• New York is the fourth largest US state by population (19.7 million) and third by GDP ($1.35 trillion) behind California and Texas.
• The state emitted 204.6 mt of CO2 in 1990, requiring a reduction to 122.76 mt under the new plan. Emissions are forecast to top out at 177.19 mt this year and 174.69 mt in 2030 under BAU, according to figures from the New York State Research and Development Authority.
• Emissions from New York’s power sector are projected to rise under the plan due to increased electrification of the transportation sector. For that reason, the state is urging the EPA not to set New York CPP targets at a level that inhibits the state’s ability to meet economy-wide emissions targets.

By Robert Mullin – news@carbon-pulse.com