In her State of the State address Tuesday, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to outline her anti-pollution “Cap & Invest” program, which critics warn will cause gasoline and energy costs to rise in the already fossil fuel-averse climate. stands.
The plan aims to reduce emissions by charging companies for their greenhouse gas emissions and investing that money in initiatives such as modernizing buildings so they can run on green energy.
A “ceiling” refers to the limit on greenhouse gas emissions imposed by a state. It is often expected that the “ceiling” will fall every year to meet climate change prevention goals.
The state could then set up an auction to let energy companies bid for pollution weight-based ‘entitlements’ – the proceeds of which could be invested by the government in ‘green’ initiatives, according to New York focus.
New York motorists could see more pain at the pump from such a proposal, according to critics like the nonpartisan group Upstate United, which advocates for boosting New York state’s economy.
The average AAA gas price in New York is $3.14/gallon – on par with most surrounding states except Pennsylvania – and remains generally higher than the rest of the Northeast due to the fourth-highest gas tax nationally.
A Hochul spokesperson told the newspaper New York Post that the governor is “focused on lowering the cost of living, putting money back into the pockets of New Yorkers with refunds, tax credits and more.”
Since Democrats took over executive power from Republican Party Gov. George Pataki in 2007 and have held it without interruption, the Empire State has gradually restricted energy exploration in the state.
The trend started with Governor David Paterson’s 2010 “timeout” on hydraulic fracturing of natural gas, which remains the case to this day.
The ‘Marcellus Shale’ range is named after a town in New York – but there has been some fracking activity since then at the Pennsylvania end of the deposits.
State Sen. Tom O’Mara, R-Elmira, represents a district that is part of the Marcellus oil shale formation that remains untouched under state policy.
Natural gas wells are scattered across the countryside in neighboring Bradford and Tioga counties, just south of Pennsylvania, but the landscape is free of signs of exploration for those traversing NY-17 through New York’s Southern Tier, just a few miles away.
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On October 6, 2017, an oil pump jack operates in the drive-thru section of a McDonald’s in Bradford, Pennsylvania. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
On Monday, O’Mara criticized what he called the last “radical climate mandate” that would be issued:
“Gov. Hochul and Albany Democrats will continue to talk about addressing New York’s affordability crisis. But it is clear that their actions such as Cap and Invest, more commonly called ‘Cap and Tax’… will only continue to push this state into the ground economically. ” he said.
In 2014, O’Mara denounced New York’s original decision to ban the ban fracking in its areasaying it “destroys the hopes of so many Southern farmers, landowners, businesses and potential natural gas industry jobs.”
Hochul’s cap-and-tax plan, he said, will only increase the cost of doing business in New York and push more families and employers out of the state while exacerbating the affordability crisis.
The plan shows the governor is out of touch with New Yorkers, House Minority Leader William Barclay told Fox News Digital.
“The last thing we need is more unworkable environmental policies from Albany that drive up costs and drive residents away. Democrats constantly lecture us about the need for Cap and Invest and other misguided energy policies, but if people pay more at the pump and can’t afford their heating bills, who benefits?” asked Barclay, R-Oneida.
“It is our responsibility to ensure New Yorkers have reliable, affordable energy sources – and not force consumers to subsidize the green dreams of the liberal environmental lobby.”
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Gov. Kathy Hochul (Reuters/Cindy Schultz)
In 2021, the then Governor of New York decided. Andreas Cuomo successfully shut down the massive 2,000 MW Indian Point nuclear power plant on the Hudson River, across from Haverstraw.
Cuomo cited safety concerns at the time, saying that “it has no place… in close proximity to the most densely populated area in the country.” Critics responded that the said area – New York City – was heavily dependent on the power it generated and complained about higher energy bills.
A 2019 law commits New York to net-zero emissions by 2050, according to The New York Times.
On a national level, “Cap & Trade” first entered the American lexicon during the 2008 presidential campaign, when then-Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has courted environmentalists with the idea of taxing entities that release greenhouse gases and affect the atmosphere.
