In 2009, Gov. David Paterson issued an executive order establishing a statewide goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. This is the level of reduction scientific experts with the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) say is necessary to avert the worst effects of global warming.

The governor created the Climate Action Council, composed of more than a dozen state agencies and authorities, to develop the Climate Action Plan, in order to meet this ambitious goal. After holding meetings for more than a year, the Climate Action Council produced an interim report.

The Council will be accepting public comments on the report until Monday. The lead up to this date is a critical moment for state climate policy. This is a rare opportunity for the public to let their voices be heard. New York state emits 1 percent of the world’s emissions. Stronger action needs to be taken.

Currently the 600-page interim report, created by New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), supports nuclear power, the use of ‘clean coal’ — also known as carbon capture and sequestration — and garbage incineration as low-carbon alternatives. The state should commit to a clean energy future that does not rely on dangerous, polluting or unproven technologies.

For New York to get serious about climate change, there can be no wasted time. The Climate Action Plan needs to focus on immediate steps the state can achieved to limit emissions. New York should adopt an interim target of at least 25 percent emissions reductions by 2020, as Massachusetts has recently done.

The final draft of the Climate Action Plan must also see a diminished role in unsustainable technologies like nuclear power and coal with carbon sequestration. Money should instead be invested in proven, clean, safe and renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind and hydrogen power.

The interim report and information about the planning process is available online at nyclimatechange.us. Comments can also be submitted electronically at nyclimatecomments.us.

This is the final chance to move the plan in the right direction. Each letter sent in by Monday will force the accountability of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new administration. There is no time to waste in tackling climate change.

Staff from the Syracuse University and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry chapter of the New York Public Interest Group

 

Published on February 2, 2011 at 12:00 pm