NYS officials won't alter climate change policies despite Trump executive order

ALBANY — New York State leaders say environmental projects and policies will remain on track, despite an order from President Donald Trump attempting to undo state climate laws. 

Trump signed an executive order last week directing the U.S. attorney general to identify "illegal” state and local climate, energy and environmental justice laws that "impede” domestic energy use and production. The attorney general could then take action to try to stop the enforcement of the laws found to be illegal.

State Attorney General Letitia James, Gov. Kathy Hochul and other state leaders pushed back, saying efforts will continue, including electrifying vehicles and buildings, and building out renewable energy sources, as the state aims to get all electricity from emission-free sources by 2040 and reduce economywide emissions by 85% from 1990 levels by 2050.

"The Trump administration cannot punish states for adopting laws that protect their residents,” James said on X on Wednesday, adding "we’re not going to back down.”

"We are a nation of states — and laws — and we will not be deterred,” Hochul said in a joint statement with New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who together co-chair the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of 24 governors.

The order comes as the Republican president continues to issue wide-ranging directives and orders on everything from strengthening immigration enforcement to pausing approvals and renewals of wind energy projects — resulting in hundreds of lawsuits filed by private parties and states, including New York. Simultaneously the administration and Republican Congress are proposing trillions of dollars in funding cuts and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is looking to roll back environmental regulations on air, water and waste.

The order itself, however, has "no legal effect,” said Michael Gerrard, professor of environmental law at Columbia Law School. "The issue will be whether the Department of Justice will actually bring any lawsuits.”

Environmental advocates, however, say the order, along with actions of the administration, may give investors pause in financing new projects and delay new environmental legislation as state and local lawmakers consider legal challenges.

"The biggest part of this is the instability and uncertainty that this executive introduces,” said Vanessa Fajans-Turner, executive director of Environmental Advocates NY. "This executive order is, in my mind, really a very big PR strategy.”

New York Republicans and gas and oil industry leaders applauded the order, stressing the importance of affordability — a major issue in elections last November.

"New York's energy and climate agenda is completely out of touch with the real needs of New York families, farmers, small businesses and manufacturers,” Assemb. Phil Palmesano (R-Corning)  said in an emailed statement. "I fully support President Trump’s efforts to pump the brakes on the states’ green energy mandates.”

States vs. federal

The order, titled "Protecting American Energy from State Overreach,” directs the U.S. attorney general to identify state and local laws that "are or may be unconstitutional, preempted by federal law, or otherwise unenforceable.”

"These state laws and policies weaken our national security and devastate Americans by driving up energy costs for families coast-to-coast, despite some of these families not living or voting in states with these crippling policies,” Trump said in the order, adding the laws "undermine” federalism.

There should be a total of zero laws on the attorney general's list, said Susan Kraham, managing attorney of the northeast regional office of Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization. "Just because the administration doesn’t like a particular state policy doesn’t make that policy unlawful.”

To stop the enforcement of state climate laws and policies, the administration would have to challenge them in court, legal experts said.

"There’s a long history of state regulation on all things environmental, so it would be an uphill climb to throw out most state environmental laws,” Gerrard said. Federal laws such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act have federal standards, but also exclusively say that states may adopt their own standards, which may be stronger, with a couple exceptions, he said.

The federal government may try to intervene in pending cases, Gerrard said. For example, New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act, which was discussed in Trump's order and requires polluters to pay for their historical contributions to climate change, is being challenged by 22 states, led by West Virginia. They allege the law violates the U.S. Constitution and is preempted by federal law.

In the interim, states will have more work responding to requests from the Department of Justice following up on the executive order, said Blair Horner, of the New York Public Interest Research Group. "It does gum up the works.”

And "there is a chilling effect,” he said. "If you are investors in technologies that hinge on climate laws being on the books, you have to think twice given this sort of broad-based assault."

 While the order and actions of the Trump administration have invigorated some leaders to stand up and reassert their rights, the politics and potential funding cuts also could have a chilling effect because of uncertainty, Fajans-Turner said. State lawmakers may believe they have to "go above and beyond to demonstrate legality” for environmental bills being discussed, she said, which may mean they take longer to pass.