Climate Change & Resiliency
New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan is Released
Today, New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo unveiled the New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan: Charting a Course to 2,400 Megawatts of Offshore Wind Energy. On behalf of the State, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (“NYSERDA”) oversaw the preparation of the Master Plan and its 20 supporting studies. The…
New York State and City Pension Funds Will Divest from Fossil Fuel Companies
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio have both recently made significant climate change-related announcements: the State’s and City’s pension funds will divest billions of dollars from fossil fuel companies. These actions support state and local goals of reducing statewide greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030 and meeting the Paris Agreement…
Breaking: Payment of BCP, solar, low-income housing and other tax credits may be delayed
Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled the details this week of a $168 billion proposed budget for FY 2019. In light of a potential budget deficit that could approach $4 billion, certain tax law changes are proposed. In recent years the proposed budget has been acted on by the Legislature and Governor before April 1st. Among the…
New York State Submits Area Off Long Island to Federal Government for Potential Wind Leasing
This week, the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (“NYSERDA”) officially submitted an area off the coast of Long Island, referred to as an Area for Consideration for the Potential Locating of Offshore Wind Energy Areas, to the federal government’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”). NYSERDA is proposing that BOEM consider identifying…
New York Court of Appeals Denies Exxon Mobil’s Motion to Appeal in Ongoing Climate Change Investigation by New York Attorney General
On September 12, 2017, the New York Court of Appeals denied Exxon Mobil’s motion for leave to appeal a decision of the Appellate Division, First Department, which had held that the accountant-client privilege is not recognized in New York and therefore does not protect documents held by PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”), Exxon’s auditor, from subpoena by New…
State and Local Leaders Fight to Uphold America’s Paris Accord Climate Commitments with “America’s Pledge”
By: Zachary Berliner Last month, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and California Governor Jerry Brown launched “America’s Pledge,” an initiative which builds on recently-formed partnerships of American states, cities, and businesses committed to upholding the United States’ pledged greenhouse gas (“GHG”) reductions under the Paris climate agreement (including the “We Are Still In”…