ALBANY, N.Y. -- Regulators, decision makers and environmentalists will gather in Albany next week to discuss how to achieve New York's ambitious goal for switching to renewable energy.

The theme of this year's Alliance for Clean Energy annual fall conference is "50 by 30: Implementing New York's Clean Energy Future." According to Ann Reynolds, executive director of the organization, achieving 50 percent renewable energy in New York by 2030 will be challenging, but doable.

"If we can get there, we will achieve benefits in terms of air quality, local economic development, diversifying our energy supply,” Reynolds said. “And we will be reducing the carbon emissions that cause global warming."

The conference is scheduled for November 2 and 3. It will include discussions of New York's Clean Energy Standard, legislative issues, energy markets and a keynote address by President Obama's chief energy and climate change adviser.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has made 50 percent renewable power by 2030 official state policy. State Energy Czar Richard Kaufman, who also will address the conference, said achieving that mandate will mean integrating renewable energy sources into the state's electric system in new and different ways.

"A hybrid electric system which is made up of large scale power plants as well as smaller scale distributed solutions where electrons flow in more than one direction and where supply and demand are dynamic,” Kaufman said.

He added that the governor's energy plan, called Reforming the Energy Vision, also includes significant policy initiatives for utilities to increase energy efficiency.

A year ago, getting to 50 percent renewable energy by 2030 was still an idea, Reynolds said. And the 2015 conference was focused on demonstrating that the goal was attainable.

"We're so thrilled that over the course of this year we now have a mandate for 50 percent renewable energy in New York,” she said. "Now, though, we have to get into brass tacks about how can we achieve it, how can it be implemented, what are the details?"

Information about the conference is available here.



get more stories like this via email

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Three New Hampshire professors are among those who've signed a letter urging the United Nations General Assembly to adopt what's known as the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

More than 2,000 scientists and academics say the treaty, which would be a binding agreement, could help move forward on the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Professor Pam Jordan, who teaches politics and global affairs at Southern New Hampshire University, said that with the U.N. General Assembly now meeting, global leaders should take strong action.

"This treaty would seek to end the expansion of coal, oil and gas industries, phase out fossil fuels in an incremental way that can be measured, and then support a transition to renewable energy sources that would address the needs of people worldwide," she said.

Recent polling shows more than 60% of likely New Hampshire voters support clean-energy investments at the national level, such as those in the budget being negotiated in Congress. The letter noted that this global treaty would work to constrain the fossil-fuel supply.

Jordan added that with the recent U.N. report calling climate change a "Code Red for humanity," limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is crucial to stop the most catastrophic effeccts - which she notes would disproportionately fall on developing countries. She said the Paris Climate Accords set important goals, and it's time to take the next step.

"It's not just a voluntary kind of report the countries are putting out," she said, "but they're working with oil and gas companies to eliminate oil and gas and coal, and then start developing renewables in a more systematic way."

She said it's not clear whether the U.N. will take up the treaty, and if it does, there will be a process of officially adopting it and having nations ratify and sign it.

ALBANY, N.Y. - Clean-energy groups are touting new zero-emissions vehicle initiatives in New York, part of the state's ongoing effort to reduce the greenhouse gases that scientists say are primarily responsible for global warming.

The new act establishes that new passenger cars and light trucks sold in New York must be zero-emission by 2035. Medium and heavy-duty vehicles must follow suit by 2045.

While the goal is ambitious, Deb Peck Kelleher, director of policy analysis and operations for Alliance for Clean Energy New York, said it can be reached with added sale locations, among other initiatives.

"A lot of vehicles in those next 14 years will age out and need to be replaced," she said. "If we put in a number of pieces behind the goal, to make sure that consumers can go to the dealership and can purchase the vehicle that they want locally, I think that we'll get there a lot quicker."

A bill in the New York Legislature also would expand the number of retail locations that can sell all-electric vehicles. Other proposals would create incentives for school districts to purchase electric buses, and allow state sales-tax exemptions on the first 35,000 of a hybrid electric-vehicle purchase.

Gov. Kathy Hochul also has directed the state Department of Environmental Conservation to release a proposed regulation similar to California's law to reduce diesel pollution.

Peck Kelleher said this would most affect people who live in high-traffic areas.

"The zero-emission requirements in the Advanced Clean Truck Rule are crucial to public health and equity, and improving air quality in these neighborhoods and ensuring access to clean transportation," she said.

Studies show Black, Latino, and Asian American communities are disproportionately exposed to air pollution as a result of living near highways. And with more severe weather events affecting New York, Peck Kelleher added that there's been greater recognition that transitioning vehicle production from gas-powered to electric must happen.

"Change is hard," she said, "and I think people are just economically looking at it, to figure out where they will end up in the new electrified universe."

Under the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, statewide greenhouse-gas emissions must be reduced to 40% of their 1990 levels by 2030.

HARTFORD, Conn. - A new report reveals Connecticut is not on track to meet either of its 2030 or 2050 greenhouse gas emissions goals, and advocates say cutting transportation-related pollution is the way forward.

The Connecticut Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, which reviewed air quality trends from 1990 to 2018, shows that the transportation sector is the state's largest source of pollution, mostly from fossil fuel combustion in vehicles.

Samantha Dynowski, state director of Sierra Club Connecticut, said it's time for the state to act swiftly to reduce greenhouse gases.

"We need the administration to really change that policy, to plan to reduce vehicle miles traveled" said Dynowski. "And that can include things like really prioritizing transit, rail and bus because when you build for more vehicle emissions, you get more vehicle emissions."

Connecticut's Global Warming Solutions Act created a target to reduce emissions by 45% below 2001 levels by 2030. The 2018 Governor's Council on Climate Change report unveiled that a 29% reduction in transportation emissions from 2014 is needed to meet the 2030 target.

Lori Brown, executive director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, said one important step the state could take would be joining the Transportation Climate Initiative, or TCI. It's a multi-state agreement that uses a cap-and-invest system to reduce pollution from gasoline and diesel fuel.

Proceeds from the initiative would be used to invest in clean infrastructure. Brown said TCI is crucial for a healthy future in Connecticut.

"We know it's going to generate around $100 million dollars a year for things like converting dirty diesel school buses into electric school buses," said Brown. "That cuts across urban, suburban, rural. It can do all kinds of things that local municipalities want to do like improving intersections and sidewalks and rail and transit options."

TCI requires the Connecticut General Assembly's approval to start the program. Brown said advocates are calling on the state legislature to pass TCI during a Special Session this fall.

TCI would also ensure that half of the program's revenue would go to communities overburdened by air pollution.