New York just proposed a draft rule that would require large companies and big polluters to report their annual emissions. This is a crucial step in the state’s pending “cap-and-invest” program, the Clean Air Initiative, which would enable it to set enforceable limits on pollution that decline year by year, and make polluters pay.
But without a strong reporting rule in place to know where pollution is coming from, we can’t hope to mitigate it. Better data also means smarter decisions on how and where to cut pollution and how to support communities affected by the climate crisis.
At a time when Washington is dismantling climate programs, New York needs a critical tool like cap-and-invest to hold polluters accountable, ensure cleaner air and lower costs for working families, and deliver on much-needed transportation and infrastructure investments.
