Exactly how much is the energy transition going to cost us?

Honesty was so important to Ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes that it is said he would weep at its absence. In this spirit, let me begin by stating categorically that human-caused global climate change is real. It places humanity in peril, and in order to stop this cataclysm from occurring, dramatic changes must occur in virtually every aspect of modern life.

New York has joined many national, state and local governments in adopting legislation to combat climate change. The 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act set a mandate of reducing the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions by 85% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels and requires that electricity used in the state be 70% zero emission by 2030 and 100% by 2040.

This work will profoundly affect all aspects of our state’s economy, including our transportation systems, agriculture, manufacturing and all sectors of real estate. While I believe these mandates are technically feasible, I have grave concerns about our ability to finance them and the perpetuation of a false idea that New York’s actions alone will stem the tide of climate change.

There is no doubt that there will be many positive local benefits to reducing fossil fuel combustion. These reductions will provide real health benefits for communities across our state. And the energy transition will create many employment opportunities, another positive.

But what concerns me most is the near total lack of transparency on how much each of us will have to pay to finance these mandates.

In addition to the renewableenergy generation buildout, we’ll need battery storage and new transmission facilities to move the zero-emission energy to load centers. In addition, we will need a total reconstruction of our electric distribution system (the wires that bring power to our homes and businesses) to allow the increase in electrification of buildings and transportation. Buildings will need retrofits to replace fossil fuel -powered heat and water systems. And we’ll need vehicle charging infrastructure for all vehicles large and small.

We have never tried to spend this amount of money in this short of a period of time in history. And it is vital to remember that this level of new capitalization will be in addition to what the state spends on education, health care, housing, roads and bridges, economic development and other general expenses.

Despite clear language in the CLCPA that requires a precise accounting of impending costs, state agencies have not produced these numbers with enough detail to say what this transition will cost each household and business. New York is already a very expensive place to live and do business; I fear that once these costs become real, they will add to the continued exodus of people and business activity, and will require additional large subsidies on all levels to keep what we have, let alone let New York grow.

While I personally support the full clean energy transition, we must also be honest with our population. They cannot be told that New York’s actions alone will stop the effects of climate change. Remember, if we meet the targets successfully at an unknown cost, we will reduce global emissions by a total of one half of one percent. If New York ruled the world, this wouldn’t be a problem, but it doesn’t.

We must start by being honest with each other. From that point we can have a rational discussion on how best to proceed. So when it comes to CLCPA transparency, Diogenes would most definitely weep.

John Howard served on the state Public Service Commission from 2019 to 2024.