The judge dismissed that argument.
“It is undoubtedly true that the task placed before the DEC is very complicated indeed,” he wrote. “But as a legal argument, this is unavailing.”
Schreibman said there were two possible paths forward: Either the legislature can step in and change the law, or the DEC must act on it. He set his deadline in February, a month into the next legislative session, to give state lawmakers a chance to weigh in. If the legislature leaves the climate law intact, he said, he is “highly unlikely” to grant the DEC an extension.
The ruling does not explicitly require the state to move ahead with cap-and-invest; the policy is not named in the climate law, and Schreibman said the content of the DEC’s regulations is not up to him. But the law does require the regulations to reflect the findings of its 2022 scoping plan, which envisioned cap-and-invest as its core measure to achieve the emissions targets. State agencies spent two years working on the rules to establish that program before Hochul put them on ice. It’s not yet clear whether the DEC could find a substitute by February.
Hochul said Monday that her administration plans to appeal the decision, which could lead the case to drag on for months longer, if not more.
Reacting to the ruling on Friday evening, she said she would do what was necessary to keep New York’s energy supply reliable and affordable and keep the state attractive to business.
“New York has been, and will continue to be, a leader in climate action, but the judge’s decision fails to factor in the realities of today that include a federal government hostile to clean energy projects, the continuing impacts of post-COVID high inflation, and potential energy shortages expected downstate as soon as next year,” Hochul said in an emailed statement. “We plan to review all our options, including working with the Legislature to modify the CLCPA and appeal, in order to protect New Yorkers from higher costs.”
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