Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a new climate bill last week that forces fossil fuel companies to pay $75 billion They will be assessed for “restoration” over the next 25 years as they are accused of causing “extreme weather”. [emphasis, links added]
“It's time Big polluters pay their fair share,” she declared.
But that claim is an unscientific joke—this law, passed by some of the dullest, most ignorant lawmakers in the country, means Albany’s political class has just stepped on the accelerator of the Empire State’s economic demise.
Under the law, New York would “impose cost recovery requirements” against responsible parties or fossil fuel companies for extreme weather events, Among them, “should strictly bear responsibility, No consideration of fault“ (emphasis mine).
Each company will receive a share of the $75 billion in funding equal to its “applicable share of covered greenhouse gas emissions” – the carbon dioxide produced by the fuel and electricity they sell.
But this is a huge money grab based on junk science so arbitrary and capricious that a court challenge is a sure thing.
Perhaps this discovery process will provide the opportunity to debunk this extreme weather rumor once and for all.
The law is said to reduce storm damage and pollution – Yet no reputable scientist could claim such absurd claims without funding from the United Nations or government.
Carbon dioxide emissions don’t cause “extreme weather” at all As we at CFACT and other experts have documented countless times.
What kind of “extreme weather” has affected New Yorkers recently? “Superstorm” Sandy (no a hurricane) more than a decade ago in 2012? How many feet does a typical lake effect snowfall in Buffalo cost?
Historically, the worst storms to hit New York occurred 90 and 70 years ago.
The 1938 New England hurricane reached Category 3 on Long Island, killing 60 people, and the 1954 hurricanes Carol and Hazel each had wind speeds in excess of 110 miles per hour.
Hurricanes Donna and Esther hit New York in 1960 and 1961 with winds exceeding 100 mph.
If rising carbon dioxide emissions are making storms worse, how are they caused? reduce?
In other words, Hochul was decades behind the times in seeking such compensation.
In fact, carbon dioxide is necessary for life on Earth, not a “pollutant.”
Carbon dioxide makes up only 0.04% of Earth's atmospheric gases, or one percent of four percent.
Small changes in these levels would not cause Arctic ice to melt or trigger hurricanes.
However, New York’s carbon emissions policies directly harm the interests of the state’s residents.
New Yorkers now pay some of the highest electricity bills in the country, rising 13.6% in the last year alone. Gas prices here are the seventh-highest in the country, currently averaging $3.13 per gallon.
These costs are sure to increase as the country undertakes new climate assessments of energy companies, which will inevitably be passed on to consumers.
New York politicians have also refused for years to access the state's abundant natural gas through fracking, as neighboring Pennsylvania and other states do.
These massive interstate deliveries mean the political class has been living in a fantasy world, pretending to “lead the country” in solving the “climate crisis” without suffering blackouts and other ill effects.
But their upcoming $75 billion climate slush fund takes this virtue signaling to new extremes, The costs to New York residents and employers are difficult to offset elsewhere.
The knock-on effects will include further outflows of population, investment and jobs to more rational countries.
Since 2020, New York State's net population has decreased by 336,500 people, a decrease of 1.7%, the largest decrease of any state in both volume and percentage.
The influx of illegal immigrants has cost taxpayers billions of dollars, but those losses have not stabilized.
So far, New York’s political class has not paid the price for this reckless economic policy.
The lack of a viable two-party system makes primary challengers the greatest political threat to Democratic incumbents, leading to extremist policies like this one that preclude that threat.
Just as important, large interest groups such as public employee unions and environmental nonprofits also rely on government largesse.
This new climate “superfund” provides a huge new piggy bank that they can plunder for years to come.
Hochul signed on to this climate fund fiasco not for scientific or fairness reasons, but as yet another sycophancy to special interests for the sake of her 2026 re-election campaign.
The resulting fiscal and economic damage to New Yorkers simply doesn't matter.
Her continued weakness and gullibility make her a The worst governor in New York's recent history.
To read more, visit the New York Post
