The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is full speed ahead on the ‘Advanced Clean Car II’ regulations that would require all passenger cars and trucks sold in the state to be zero-emission by 2035. I have expressed serious concerns with the overall climate action plan being jammed through the Legislature by the Albany Majority, but this further action by the DEC once again puts the cart before the horse. Before adopting such stringent, life-altering measures like banning the sale of gasoline vehicles, we must complete a full cost-benefit analysis to show the taxpayer the full extent of climate decision making. Such analysis has been proposed by us in the Assembly Minority Conference, but it has been blocked from even coming up for debate by the Majority. What do they not want to debate? The fact that the average cost of an electric vehicle is $65,000?

If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times; I am all for renewable energy and integrating these alternative sources into our everyday lives. But integration is not what’s going on here, Majority lawmakers are pushing a wholesale overhaul of our electrical grid and of the vehicles we drive. An overhaul that would be monumentally expensive for the taxpayer. In past columns I have pointed to the cost of fully converting each home in New York to electric appliances. This cost on each homeowner is estimated to be $35,000 and could go even higher. Pair this with the average cost of an electric vehicle, $65,000, and you are talking about north of $100,000 in new costs. Not only would this further accelerate the exodus of New Yorkers, but what would the remaining taxpayers be getting for their money? Would they be getting a more efficient energy grid free of blackouts? Supporters of the climate action plan can’t seem to answer this simple question.

It is also important that we do not overlook the human rights abuses that go into the construction of these electric vehicles. The rare element, cobalt, is used in the production of batteries in electric vehicles. This element mainly comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo where children are forced to mine for it. These children are subject to horrendous working conditions where they are forced to work long hours for little-to-no pay, and reports show many of these children are dying, being maimed and becoming seriously injured from mining collapses. If Albany Majority wants to grandstand on how good their green energy plans are, then let’s look at the entirety of their plan, including the use of child labor.

To conclude, the state of New York accounts for 0.4% of global emissions. Why would we enact a plan that would only continue to crush the middle class and drive people away from doing business in our state, when our neighbors and countries around the world aren’t holding themselves to the same climate standards? New York state is not the boogey-man that climate activists want to portray.

As always, please feel free to reach out to my office at 315-493-3909 or email me at blankenbushk@nyassembly.gov.