New York’s sweeping climate change law comes with lots of unknowns

New York is on the verge of mandating net-zero emissions across the entire state — the most ambitious state climate change law in the U.S.

Early Thursday, the New York Assembly approved a bill that now heads to Governor Andrew Cuomo, which — if he signs it as expected — will mandate zero-net greenhouse gas emissions across the state by 2050.

It means a radical overhaul of infrastructure in a state not exactly known for it and where 80% of energy transmission equipment predates the 1980s. The bill’s supporters say those unknowns pale in comparison to the cost of failing to curb climate change.