Amd §§75-0101, 75-0105 & 75-0109, En Con L; amd §66-p, Pub Serv L
Relates to the state greenhouse gas emission accounting system; aligns the state accounting system with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) accounting system.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6039
SPONSOR: Barrett TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law and the public
service law, in relation to the state greenhouse gas emission accounting
system
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:
TO ALIGN NEW YORK STATE'S GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ACCOUNTING SYSTEM
WITH THE FEDERAL STANDARD OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ACCOUNTING, AS
OUTLINED BY THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE (IPCC).
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends subdivision 2, paragraph e of subdivision 10 and
subdivision 13 of section 75-0101 of the Environmental Conservation Law,
as added by Chapter 106 of the laws of 2019.
Section 2: Amends Section 75-0105 of the Environmental Conservation Law,
as added by Chapter 106 of the laws of 2019.
Section 3: Amends paragraph g and subparagraph of paragraph h of subdi-
vision 4 of section 75-0109 of the Environmental Conservation Law, as
added by Chapter 106 of the laws of 2019.
Section 4: Amends paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 66-p of the
Public Service Law, as added by Chapter 106 of the laws of 2019.
Section 5: Effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The State's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions account system is fundamen-
tally incompatible with the system adopted with the federal Inflation
Reduction Act (IRA). Specifically, it deviates from the IRA and the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) based accounting
systems more broadly, in 3 ways: New York currently uses a 20 year
global warming potential (GWP) whereas the IRA uses a 100 year GWP; the
IRA requires full lifecycle assessment for both fossil and biogenic
pathways, whereas New York only requires this for imported fossil fuels;
and, the IRA tracks biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions but does not
count them towards total lifecycle emissions, whereas New York treats
biogenic CO2 emissions the same as fossil CO2 emissions by both tracking
and counting them towards the total.
This critical piece of legislation will reconcile the State's GHG
accounting methodology with the IRA by: adopting a 100 year GWP; requir-
ing that full life cycle assessments be conducted for fossil and biogen-
ic pathways without regard to place of origin; and, differentiating
between biogenic and fossil CO2 emissions by tracking them both but only
counting fossil CO2 emissions toward the States total GHG inventory.
Clean energy investors and developers have expressed reluctance to
pursue initiatives in New York that would qualify for the IRA and other
federal IPCC-based incentive programs because the State's GHG accounting
systems incompatibility creates major compliance hurdles that do not
exist in the other states where these investors and developers will
likely gravitate. Correcting the State's GHG accounting provisions to
harmonize them with the IRA will allow New York to access recurring
federal incentives for decarbonization with a combined annual value
greater than $9 billion, extended Investment Tax Credits valued at
approximately $1 billion, and tens of thousands of new full-time employ-
ment positions, primarily in construction and operations, that would be
covered by the IRA's prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements.
In addition, continued use of the State's current GH0 accounting system
will substantially increase the costs of reducing 0110 emissions
compared to the federal system; costs that will primarily be borne by
New York ratepayers and consumers. Finally, this legislation will facil-
itate the use of clean fuels in the State, resulting in significant
near-term GHG emissions reductions and will avoid the need and associ-
ated costs for a portion of the anticipated grid buildout to meet the
State's decarbonization goals.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Positive impact in the State's ability to access federal funding.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6039
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 31, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BARRETT -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law and the public
service law, in relation to the state greenhouse gas emission account-
ing system
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2, paragraph e of subdivision 10 and subdivi-
2 sion 13 of section 75-0101 of the environmental conservation law, as
3 added by chapter 106 of the laws of 2019, are amended to read as
4 follows:
5 2. "Carbon dioxide equivalent" means the amount of carbon dioxide by
6 mass that would produce the same global warming impact as a given mass
7 of another greenhouse gas over an integrated [twenty-year] one hundred-
8 year time frame after emission.
9 e. Anaerobic digesters[, where energy produced is directed toward
10 localized use];
11 13. "Statewide greenhouse gas emissions" means the total annual emis-
12 sions of greenhouse gases produced within the state from anthropogenic
13 sources; [and] greenhouse gases produced outside of the state that are
14 associated with the generation of electricity imported into the state;
15 and greenhouse gases produced outside the state that are associated with
16 the extraction and transmission of fossil fuels imported into the state.
17 Statewide emissions shall be expressed in tons of carbon dioxide equiv-
18 alents on a full life-cycle basis utilizing the Argonne GREET (green-
19 house gases, regulated emissions, and energy use in technologies) model
20 for all systems resulting in greenhouse gas emission sources in the
21 state, including the relative contribution of each type of greenhouse
22 gas and each type of source to the statewide total.
23 § 2. Section 75-0105 of the environmental conservation law, as added
24 by chapter 106 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10231-02-3
A. 6039 2
1 § 75-0105. Statewide greenhouse gas emissions report.
2 1. No later than two years after the effective date of this article,
3 and each year thereafter, the department shall issue a report on state-
4 wide greenhouse gas emissions, expressed in tons of carbon dioxide
5 equivalents, [from all] on a full life-cycle basis utilizing the Argonne
6 GREET (greenhouse gases, regulated emissions, and energy use in technol-
7 ogies) model for all systems resulting in greenhouse gas emission sourc-
8 es in the state, including the relative contribution of each type of
9 greenhouse gas and each type of source to the statewide total.
10 2. The statewide greenhouse gas emissions report shall be a comprehen-
11 sive evaluation, informed by a variety of data, including [but not
12 limited to]:
13 a. information relating to the use of fossil fuels by sector, includ-
14 ing for electricity generation, transportation, heating, and other
15 combustion purposes;
16 b. information relating to fugitive and vented emissions from systems
17 associated with the production, processing, transport, distribution,
18 storage, and consumption of fossil fuels, including natural gas;
19 c. information relating to emissions from non-fossil fuel sources,
20 including, but not limited to, garbage incinerators, biomass combustion,
21 landfills and landfill gas generators, and anaerobic digesters;
22 d. information relating to emissions associated with manufacturing,
23 chemical production, cement plants, and other processes that produce
24 non-combustion emissions; and
25 e. information from sources that may be required to participate in the
26 registration and reporting system pursuant to subdivision [four] three
27 of this section.
28 3. The statewide greenhouse gas emissions report shall also include an
29 estimate of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the generation of
30 imported electricity and with the extraction and transmission of fossil
31 fuels and with the production and transmission of biofuels imported into
32 the state which shall be counted as part of the statewide total.
33 4. Within one year after the effective date of this article, the
34 department shall consider establishing a mandatory registry and report-
35 ing system from individual sources to obtain data on greenhouse gas
36 emissions exceeding a particular threshold. If established, such regis-
37 try and reporting system shall apply a consistent reporting threshold to
38 ensure the unbiased collection of data.
39 5. The statewide greenhouse gas emissions report shall also include an
40 estimate of what the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level was in
41 1990.
42 6. The statewide greenhouse gas emissions report shall utilize best
43 available science and methods of analysis, including the comparison and
44 reconciliation of emission estimates from all sources, fuel consumption,
45 field data, and peer-reviewed research.
46 7. In accordance with internationally accepted best practices, carbon
47 dioxide emissions from the combustion of sustainable biomass and biofu-
48 els shall not be counted toward the statewide greenhouse gas emissions
49 limits pursuant to section 75-0107 of this article.
50 [7.] 8. The statewide greenhouse gas emissions report shall clearly
51 explain the methodology and analysis used in the department's determi-
52 nation of greenhouse gas emissions and shall include a detailed explana-
53 tion of any changes in methodology or analysis, adjustments made to
54 prior estimates, as needed, and any other information necessary to
55 establish a scientifically credible account of change.
A. 6039 3
1 [8.] 9. The department shall hold at least two public hearings to seek
2 public input regarding the methodology and analysis used in the determi-
3 nation of statewide greenhouse gas emissions, and periodically thereaft-
4 er.
5 § 3. Paragraph g and subparagraph ii of paragraph h of subdivision 4
6 of section 75-0109 of the environmental conservation law, as added by
7 chapter 106 of the laws of 2019, are amended to read as follows:
8 g. The following types of projects shall be prohibited:
9 i. waste-to-energy projects, including incineration and pyrolysis of
10 fossil fuel products; and
11 ii. biofuels used for energy or transportation purposes.
12 ii. be located in the same county, [and within twenty-five linear
13 miles, of the source of emissions,] to the extent practicable;
14 § 4. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 66-p of the public
15 service law, as added by chapter 106 of the laws of 2019, is amended to
16 read as follows:
17 (b) "renewable energy systems" means systems that generate electricity
18 or thermal energy through use of the following technologies: solar ther-
19 mal, photovoltaics, on land and offshore wind, hydroelectric, geothermal
20 electric, geothermal ground source heat, tidal energy, wave energy,
21 ocean thermal, anaerobic digestion, forest biopower that is operational
22 as of December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-two, and fuel cells
23 which do not utilize a fossil fuel resource in the process of generating
24 electricity.
25 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
