New York State targets net zero by 2050

After the UK, Germany and California, the state of New York is the next large economy to legislate for net zero emissions by 2050.  It's becoming a thing.

From Inside Climate News:

New York lawmakers approved one of the most aggressive climate policies in the world early Thursday, requiring net zero emissions for all sectors of the state's economy by mid-century.

The Climate Leadership and Communities Protection Act requires New York to get all of its electricity from carbon-free energy sources by 2040 and then reach net zero emissions by 2050.

"It clearly puts New York among the frontrunners both in the United States and globally in terms of climate policy ambitions," said Jesse Jenkins, a researcher at Harvard University's Center for the Environment.

Four other states and Puerto Rico have 100 percent clean energy mandates, but Hawaii is the only state so far with a similar law on net-zero emissions. California's governor signed an executive order in 2018 requiring net zero emissions for that state by 2045, but the order has not been codified into law. Norway and Sweden have similar requirements.

A key to reducing opposition to the bill from the business community was a last-minute amendment that changed the mid-century economy-wide zero emissions requirement to a "net zero" requirement. 

The change allows for 15 percent of emissions reductions to come in the form of "carbon offsets," which allows parts of the economy that are hardest to decarbonize, such as heavy industry or cement production, to continue to emit greenhouse gases so long as the emissions are offset by other activities, such as changes to forest and land use practices that sequester carbon dioxide.

[Read more here]

California is the fifth largest economy in the world, about the same size as the UK or France.  New York is the same size as Canada or South Korea or Texas, and is bigger than Russia. 

The largest share  of NY State's emissions comes from transportation.  Presumably, in the chart below, the residential and commercial buildings' share is for heating.  Emissions from cement production are presumably included in 'industrial'.  On the face of it, it will be easy to switch NY to a 100% (or 95% with offsets) green economy.  Over the next 25 years, the vehicle fleet will switch to EVs.  Fossil fuels will be replaced in electricity generation.  Buildings will be heated by electricity not gas or oil.