New York State Supreme Court Justice Julian Schreibman has sided with environmental groups and directed the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to promulgate regulations on or before February 6, 2026, as directed by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).
The New York State Legislature enacted the CLCPA in 2019 “to adopt measures to put the state on a path to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions by eighty-five percent by two thousand fifty and net zero emissions in all sectors of the economy.” To reach the reduction targets, the CLCPA created the Climate Action Council (CAC) and charged the CAC with developing the Scoping Plan to identify and make recommendations on regulatory measures, including those to be promulgated by NYSDEC, that will ensure the attainment of the statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emission limits. The Scoping Plan was finalized on December 19, 2022, triggering NYSDEC’s statutory requirement to develop enforceable regulations to ensure compliance with the statewide GHG emission limits by January 1, 2024. To date, NYSDEC still has not released emissions-reduction regulations as statutorily required and has not provided a timeline for doing so. This is despite news reports about a year ago that draft cap-and-invest regulations were ready to be published in January 2025.
In response to NYSDEC’s failure to comply with the CLCPA’s mandate, Citizen Action of New York, People United for Sustainable Housing Buffalo, Sierra Club, and WE ACT for Environmental Justice (collectively, the Petitioners) sought to compel “DEC to comply with its statutory obligation and promptly issue regulations that will reduce emissions as the law requires.” The Petitioners argued that mandamus was necessary given that NYSDEC “is flouting its nondiscretionary duty to issue comprehensive regulations” and court intervention was required “to ensure New York achieves the CLCPA’s mandatory reductions of climate emissions and air pollution statewide.”
In response, NYSDEC made a litany of arguments that effectively fell into two buckets: (1) the agency has enacted certain regulations and policy documents in furtherance of the CLCPA (e.g., HFC regulation, DAR-21); and (2) the CLCPA’s 2030 GHG emissions reduction goal cannot “be achieved without inflicting unanticipated and undue harm on New York consumers,” and “ New Yorkers will face alarming financial consequences if speed is given preference over sustainability.”
In his October 24, 2025, Decision and Order, Justice Julian Schreibman found that the Petitioners had established a right to mandamus relief. The Court took issue with NYSDEC’s argument that “promulgating Climate Act-compliant regulations is ‘infeasible’” and held that NYSDEC’s judgment in this regard is beyond the scope of its authority. According to the Court, the Legislature did not empower NYSDEC “to set its own targets, to achieve results within a range, or to simply make progress.” Nor does NYSDEC “have the discretion to say no or to decide that it has the authority to choose not to follow the express legislative directive at issue.”
In recognition that the Legislature could amend the CLCPA, the Court took judicial notice of the upcoming legislative session scheduled to commence in January 2026. It then held that, unless the legislative action modifies the agency’s obligations under the CLCPA, NYSDEC must promulgate regulations as required by the CLCPA by February 6, 2026. The Governor, however, has announced that the state plans to appeal the decision, which will likely extend NYSDEC’s time to act.
This case highlights the realities of the CLCPA targets and the current status of New York’s progress toward hitting those targets. Much has happened since the CLCPA was enacted in 2019, including COVID, a new administration in the White House, and new economic development initiatives. New York State, including the Governor and Legislature, will now be forced to publicly reckon with reality, particularly as it relates to affordability and reliability for New Yorkers, existing businesses, and the new economic development projects the state is supporting and opportunities it is seeking to attract.
If you have any questions regarding the content of this alert, please contact Yvonne Hennessey, Environmental Practice Area chair, at yhennessey@barclaydamon.com, or another member of the firm’s Environmental Practice Area.