Citizen Action of New York v. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Four organizations filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court requesting that the court order the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to issue draft regulations to implement the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act’s (CLCPA’s) greenhouse gas reduction requirements. The petitioners alleged that CLCPA mandated that DEC promulgate such regulations by January 1, 2024. The petitioners alleged that DEC staff had repeatedly assured the public that DEC and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority would issue draft regulations in 2024 but that the State “inexplicably reversed course” in January 2025 and “abruptly halted its plan to release regulations that are the linchpin of the climate law and has provided no plan or timeline for their release.” They asserted that the failure to issue the regulations violated the CLCPA and the New York State Constitution’s guarantee of a ”right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.”