Enacts the "New York state greenhouse gas reduction act"

Title of bill

An act to amend the environmental conservation law and the state finance law, in relation to enacting the "New York state greenhouse gas reduction act"

Summary of provisions

Establishes in the Department of Environmental Conservation the Office of Climate Research and Policy. The office is charged with the responsibility to encourage carbon offset projects in New York State, the development of a certification protocol for additional carbon credits, encourage telecommuting at the DEC, establish best management practices to aid other agency in ways to reduce their greenhouse gas production, and a means for business and individuals to calculate their greenhouse gas emissions and offer recommendations on steps to reduce such emissions.

Existing law

None.

Justification

NASA and Columbia University Earth Institute research finds that human-made greenhouse gases have brought the Earth's climate close to critical tipping points, with potentially dangerous consequences for the planet.

From a combination of climate models, satellite data, and paleoclimate records the scientists conclude that the West Antarctic ice sheet, Arctic ice cover, and regions providing fresh water sources and species habitat are under threat from continued global warming. The research appears in the current issue of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Tipping points can occur during climate change when the climate reaches a state such that strong amplifying feedbacks are activated by only moderate additional warming. This study finds that global warming of O.6 degrees C in the past 30 years has been driven mainly by increasing greenhouse gases, and only moderate additional climate forcing is likely to set in motion disintegration of the West Antarctic ice sheet and Arctic sea ice. Amplifying feedbacks include increased absorption of sunlight as melting exposes darker surfaces and speedup of iceberg discharge as the warming ocean melts ice shelves that otherwise inhibit ice flow.

The researchers used data on earlier warm periods in Earth's history to estimate climate impacts as a function of global temperature, climate models to simulate global warming, and satellite data to verify ongoing changes. Lead author James Hansen, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, concludes: "If global emissions of carbon dioxide continue to rise at the rate of the past decade, this research shows that there will be disastrous effects, including increasingly rapid sea level rise, increased frequency of droughts and floods, and increased stress on wildlife and plants due to rapidly shifting climate zones."

Legislative history

2007-2008: S.6305-A, Passed Senate 2007

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.