New York Focus: “New York May Finally Put a Price on Pollution in 2025”
RFF scholars Nicholas Roy and Molly Robertson are quoted in this piece about New York State’s proposed cap-trade-and-invest program.
If [New York State quickly sells out of emissions allowances], the state would have to release more carbon allowances, said Molly Robertson, a senior research associate at the think tank Resources for the Future, which has studied cap and trade programs in several states.
“Basically, now the amount of allowances that are available is determined by how many entities are willing to pay the ceiling price,” Robertson said...
The single biggest reason for that change in tone is the governor’s last-minute suspension of congestion pricing in June, which suggested that Hochul might be willing to walk away from major policies — even at risk of breaking the law — if they were seen to harm affordability. Many climate advocates began to worry that cap and invest could face a similar fate.
“If your program is ever going to disappear … who cares how ambitious it was in the long run if it just evaporates?” said Nicholas Roy, a research associate at Resources for the Future.
