New York appeals deadline for issuing climate law compliance regulations

New York officials are appealing a February 2026 deadline to issue new climate regulations, telling a court that completing the necessary work in that time frame is "impossible."

The state's 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act directed the Department of Conservation to issue regulations to ensure compliance with the law's emissions reduction targets within four years of its passage. The law called for a 40% reduction in economywide greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2030.

When the DEC missed that deadline, environmental groups sued to force the agency to meet its obligations. The state's 3rd Judicial District Supreme Court ordered the agency in October to issue the regulations by Feb. 6, 2026.

The DEC said in a Nov. 25 filing that the court's order requires a "mammoth task" that "entails regulating emissions across large swaths of New York's economy."

"That deadline is impossible because the Department must base any regulations on valid, up-to-date data and modeling to comply with the Climate Act," the agency said. "The department cannot, in good faith, propose regulations without foundational modeling and updated assessments of economic pressures in light of the current federal and state regulatory landscape."

The modeling will take at least four months, the filing said.

Environmental groups said the appeal will delay the necessary implementation of climate policy.

"This delay has already caused communities to miss out on at least $3 billion in investments to expand access to cleaner, cheaper energy today, including over $1 billion that could have directly lowered energy bills," Kate Courtin, senior manager of state climate policy and strategy at the Environmental Defense Fund, said in a statement. "There is robust evidence that, by moving forward with a well-designed Clean Air Initiative, [Gov. Kathy Hochul] would cut costs for working families in New York while significantly cutting pollution."

A spokesperson for the DEC said the agency does not comment on ongoing litigation.

The appeal comes as the state's draft energy plan charts a different path for its energy transition, including investments in nuclear energy and potentially repowering fossil fuel assets.

Hochul has said she is prioritizing energy affordability and reliability, including by asking state regulators to reject a proposed Consolidated Edison Inc. capital investment plan that included billions of dollars in energy transition-related investments.