In 2019, at the time of the bill's passage, about 60% of electricity within New York State was being produced by carbon-free sources, mainly hydroelectric dams and nuclear power plants.
To reach reduction targets, New York will likely need to invest in the innovation and implementation of new heating systems powered by renewable energy sources.
The plan includes certain stipulations to direct no less than 35% of the program's benefits to historically disadvantaged communities based on a number of determinants related to "public health, environmental hazards, and socioeconomic factors" and decided by the newly created Climate Justice Working Group.
New York Renews, a coalition of over 300 "environmental, justice, faith, labor, and community groups," is cited as being instrumental in the bill's passage and was "the force behind the nation's most progressive climate law [the CLCPA]".
[7] New York Renews is now pushing for further progressive legislation to fully fund and carry out the CLCPA, incentivize the creation of new clean energy, and raise revenues by taxing polluters and the ultra-rich through the Climate, Jobs, and Justice Package (CJJP).