For more than a century, the hulking state Capitol building in Albany has hosted the seat of government in New York.

And on Monday, state lawmakers proposed legislation that is meant to modernize the Capitol as well as the adjacent state office complex by requiring it to one day be run on renewable energies.

New York’s ambitious carbon reduction law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, also known as the CLCPA, doesn’t say much about nuclear power. But it does require New York to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030, and no less than 85% by 2050, from 1990 levels.

The question one climate scientist is asking is this: “Why not employ nuclear power” to help meet those goals?

Voters in New York are set to consider a larger bond act to shore up water and sewer systems in order to harden them against increasingly extreme weather events.

The proposed Environmental Bond Act, which had the initial price tag of $3 billion when proposed by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has now increased to a $4.2 billion proposal.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced it would delay a decision for a second time on whether to approve a critical air pollution permit renewal for a controversial cryptocurrency mining operation on the shores of Seneca Lake.

Greenidge Generation has been criticized for using enormous amounts of energy to mine for cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.

Climate change, along with the growing problems it’s creating around the globe, is being fueled by greenhouse gases trapped in the atmosphere. But what if those gases could be erased?

Emerging technologies that essentially vacuum carbon dioxide out of the air are being heralded by some as a game-changing weapon in the fight against climate change. But the industry still has a long way to go, and it has its share of detractors.

A proposed solar farm in Colonie is causing some concern amongst neighbors and environmental advocates.

Over the last 16 years, Deb Kazmierczak has spent most mornings sitting on her front porch with a cup of coffee.

Prominent environmental, transit and good-government organizations on Friday urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject a proposed gas tax suspension in the state budget, arguing it would run counter to the state's efforts to combat climate change and deprive road improvement projects of funding.

Lawmakers and Hochul are negotiating a potential suspension of the tax that would run from May 1 to the end of the year as the per-gallon price of gasoline remains above $4 in many parts of New York.

To get a handle on plastic packaging, there is a movement to get companies to take responsibility for all the waste they produce. It’s called Extended Producer Responsibility, or EPR.

According to the group Beyond Plastics, strong and transparent EPR can be used to solve the growing problem of packaging waste and plastic pollution, but only if states get the details right and hold companies accountable.

Buildings are the number one emitters of carbon in New York state. Those emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels like oil and gas for heating and cooling.

Convincing New Yorkers to support a ban on natural gas connections to newly constructed homes and buildings was going to be a heavy lift even before Russia invaded Ukraine. With the subsequent increase in gas prices and utility costs on the rise, it may seem even more daunting.

There is a lot on the line for environmentalists in the New York state budget.

They are looking to fund the state’s ambitious transition to green energy and they want to do it in a way that ensures racial and social equity.

A coalition of environmental organizations and labor unions is making a final push in the coming weeks to gain the approval of a clean fuel standard in the state budget with the goal of reducing carbon emissions in New York state.

The measure is meant to reduce emissions by addressing the carbon intensity of motor fuels with the blending of low-carbon alternatives. A version of the proposal, which has been backed by state Sen. Kevin Parker and Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner in the state Legislature, was included in the state Senate's budget proposal this week.

Lawmakers in the state Senate want a ban on fossil fuels in new building construction to go into effect three years earlier than proposed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The provision in the Democratic-led state Senate's proposed budget is part of a broader effort to transition the state to more renewable forms of energy in the coming decades, legislation that is expected to drive major changes in transportation, construction and consumer products.

In 2010, businessman Harry Wilson came within five points of beating New York state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli — the closest a Republican has come to winning statewide office since for Gov. George Pataki’s last re-election in 2002.

Wilson is running again — this time for governor in the hopes of ending the Grand Old Party’s two-decade long drought. First, he’ll need to secure the nomination through a primary in June.

The projects to strengthen New York's infrastructure from the worst effects of climate change while also building out projects for renewable energies like wind will be done with labor union jobs, Gov. Kathy Hochul Friday said.

Hochul was in Florida Friday morning for the New York Building Trades annual winter conference, pledging to prioritize jobs for labor in projects like the construction of wind turbines in the Albany area for construction off the shore of Long Island.

Protesters seeking more official action to combat climate change call the issue a long-term emergency facing New York.

That includes Joanna Oldman Smith, who traveled to Albany from Brooklyn to stage a sit-in at the state Capitol. She was among a dozen protesters blocking the entance to the building in order to bring attention to the issue which she said lacks urgency from the state's leaders.

As climate change continues to spur more natural disasters, a new study found that Black Americans are likely to bear the brunt of the risks associated with floods over the next several decades.

The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change on Monday, found that the United States faces a 26.4% increase in costs from severe floods by 2050, up from around $32 billion to more than $43 billion over the next several decades.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order directing the federal government to dramatically reduce its carbon footprint, putting it on a path to net-zero emissions by 2050.

“As the single largest land owner, energy consumer, and employer in the Nation, the Federal Government can catalyze private sector investment and expand the economy and American industry by transforming how we build, buy, and manage electricity, vehicles, buildings, and other operations to be clean and sustainable,” the order reads.

Michael Regan, administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), on Thursday encouraged local governments to focus their portion of the $50 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure law to improve water infrastructure and ensure Americans have access to clean drinking water in historically disadvantaged communities.

Maine climate change activists say they’re feeling both disappointment and hope for the future after the mixed results of last week’s United Nations summit in Scotland.

World leaders who gathered in Glasgow for the “COP26” conference agreed to offer plans next year to scale up their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in a last-ditch effort to keep global warming under the 1.5 degrees Celsius they agreed to in the Paris Climate Accords.

Tens of thousands of pounds of pandemic-related materials like plastic masks, gloves and face shields have been discarded into the ocean since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a report published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

As cases of COVID-19 began to rise in 2020, so too did the need for personal protection equipment (PPE), much of which was made from single-use plastics.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several of her fellow Democratic lawmakers traveled to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, with one purpose: To show that "America is back" on the world stage to help combat the climate crisis.

Fresh off of a momentous week in Washington, D.C., following the passage of the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, nearly two dozen members oft he Democratic delegation traveled to Scotland to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

A climate report released by the Biden administration last month offers a stark warning about the effects climate change could have on migration and security around the world.

The report said that migration caused by climate change could exacerbate existing geopolitical tensions, displace millions of people and deepen political instability in parts of the world.

Millions of Americans’ drinking water contains potentially-dangerous chemicals, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found in their newly-updated tap water database, including substances like arsenic, lead and a group known as “forever chemicals,” all of which are associated with serious health conditions, most commonly cancer.

The environmental monitoring nonprofit released the newest version of its database on Wednesday in an effort to call attention to “widespread contamination” of drinking water and the need for federal regulators to do more to clear chemicals from people’s taps.

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced a sweeping new plan to reduce methane emissions in the U.S., pledging to work alongside E.U. members and others nations to reduce by 30% overall methane emissions by the year 2030.

But President Biden’s announcement – coupled with his recently unveiled Build Back Better framework, which proposes roughly $555 billion for clean energy and climate change initiatives – have drawn consternation from some oil and gas leaders in the U.S., who have so far resisted calls to shift the industry away from its reliance on such emissions.

As President Joe Biden wraps up a whirlwind appearance at the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, his administration unveiled a sweeping plan on Tuesday to reduce methane emissions, pledging to work with the European Union and other nations to reduce overall methane emissions worldwide by 30% by 2030.

Methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases, contributes significantly to global warming.

In an effort to motivate corporations around the world to prioritize clean energy when purchasing materials and establishing their supply chains, President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced the formation of a new group of private companies called the First Movers Coalition.

The group, which includes more than 25 major companies so far, is meant to set the standard in industries like steel, aviation, trucking, shipping, concrete and more, which together count for about 30% of the world’s carbon emissions.

With President Joe Biden abroad making the case for urgent action to combat the climate crisis at the COP26 conference in Glasgow, Scotland, Vice President Kamala Harris took a trip to New York on Monday to announce key climate initiatives at home.

Harris, who was joined by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, traveled to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, where they announced two new Department of Energy initiatives aimed at combatting the climate crisis and creating jobs:

Trees are not only beautiful, they also provide shade and create homes for our animal friends. They may also help combat climate change.

As city planners continue to look for ways to beautify cities, many are overseeing new park developments that will in part help lower the temperatures of urban areas.

President Joe Biden heads to a vital U.N. climate summit at a time when a majority of Americans regard the deteriorating climate as a problem of high importance to them, an increase from just a few years ago.

About 6 out of 10 Americans also believe that the pace of global warming is speeding up, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.

Google is launching a host of new updates to a number of its services as part of a global effort to help consumers make environmentally-friendly choices both at home and on the road, the company announced Wednesday.

“Today, climate change is more than a threat,” Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company, Alphabet, said in a recorded statement. “It is a real and present danger. From wildfires to flooding to more frequent and severe storms, climate change is the most profound risk we face, one that affects our health, our economies and our future together on this planet.”

All Britain’s electricity will come from renewable sources by 2035, the governing Conservatives announced Monday, saying the move would help end the country’s reliance on imported fuel.

As part of Climate Week 2021, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced 11 new certified Climate Smart Communities which are working to support local efforts to meet challenges brought about by climate change. Three communities already in the program have also been recertified and Erie County has advanced to silver-level certification.

To reach certification, Hochul says that communities must establish an active climate change task force made up of residents and municipal representatives.

Irvine is moving forward in a statewide competition for $1-million worth of funding to help the city achieve its ambitious goal to have a zero-carbon economy by 2030.

The competition, the Cool City Challenge, was started by the Empowerment Institute, an international consulting and training organization specializing in empowering cities to meet their carbon reduction goals. As part of this initiative, three California cities will receive $1 million each to roll out their climate programs. The three recipients of the grants will also share the Carbon Neutral City Prize, which includes $25 million in funding.

In what officials call a key step to combat climate change, the Environmental Protection Agency is sharply limiting domestic production and use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), highly potent greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners.

The new rule, which follows through on a law Congress passed last year, is intended to decrease U.S. production and use of HFCs by 85% over the next 15 years, part of a global phaseout designed to slow global warming.

The World Health Organization said Wednesday that the harmful health effects of air pollution kick in at lower levels than it previously thought and it is setting a higher bar for policymakers and the public in its first update to its air quality guidelines in 15 years.

The United Nations health agency released its revised Air Quality Guidelines as climate change is a leading topic at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced Tuesday that China will no longer fund power plants fired by coal, which generates several of the pollutants covered by the guidelines.

McDonald's announced that it will make major changes to its iconic Happy Meal toys, with an aim to "drastically" reduce its use of plastics as part of the company's push toward sustainability and reducing their environmental impact.

"Starting now, and phased in across the globe by the end of 2025, our ambition is that every toy sold in a Happy Meal will be sustainable, made from more renewable, recycled, or certified materials like bio-based and plant-derived materials and certified fiber," McDonald's wrote in a statement posted to its website.

The Biden administration is moving to protect workers and communities from extreme heat after a dangerously hot summer that spurred an onslaught of drought-worsened wildfires and caused hundreds of deaths from the Pacific Northwest to hurricane-ravaged Louisiana.

Under a plan announced Monday, the U.S. Departments of Labor and of Health and Human Services as well as other federal agencies are launching actions intended to reduce heat-related illness and protect public health.

President Joe Biden tried to hammer out the world’s next steps against rapidly worsening climate change in a private, virtual session with a small group of other global leaders Friday, and announced a new U.S.-European pledge to cut climate-wrecking methane leaks.

Grim findings from scientists this year that the world is nearing the point where the level of climate damage from burning oil, gas and coal becomes catastrophic and irreversible “represent a code red for humanity,” Biden said at the beginning of the session.

July 2021 has earned an unenviable distinction of being the planet's hottest month on record, according to data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information Friday.

JUST IN: It’s official. #July was Earth’s hottest month on record. https://t.co/xKGLizOml4 via @NOAANCEIclimate #StateOfClimate #July2021 (Tweet 1 of 5) pic.twitter.com/Qqbu6CLqVt

President Joe Biden on Thursday signed an executive order that sets a goal that half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2030 will be zero-emissions, and he committed to reversing a Trump-era rollback of fuel emissions standards.

"We led in developing this technology. And there's no reason why we can't reclaim that leadership again. But we just have to move, we have to move fast," President Biden said, noting China's advances in the industry.

The Biden administration began legal action Wednesday to repeal a Trump-era rule that ended federal protections for hundreds of thousands of small streams, wetlands and other waterways, leaving them more vulnerable to pollution from development, industry and farms.

The rule — sometimes referred to as “waters of the United States” or WOTUS — narrowed the types of waterways that qualify for federal protection under the Clean Water Act. It was one of hundreds of rollbacks of environmental and public health regulations under President Donald Trump, who said the rules imposed unnecessary burdens on business.

The Biden administration is suspending oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as it review environmental impacts of drilling in the remote region that has been the focus of a political fight for decades, according to two people who have been briefed on the administration’s plan.

The Interior Department order was set to be announced later Monday. It follows a temporary moratorium on oil and gas lease activities imposed by President Joe Biden on his first day in office. Biden’s Jan. 20 executive order suggested a new environmental review was needed to address possible legal flaws in a drilling program approved by the Trump administration under a 2017 law approved by Congress.

The Biden administration provided the outline Thursday for its “America the Beautiful” initiative, releasing a report compiled by multiple Cabinet agencies outlining a collaborative vision for restoring and conserving America’s lands, waters and wildlife over the next decade.

The report builds on an executive order issued by President Biden in his earliest days in office, which ordered federal agencies to submit a report on how the U.S. can conserve “at least 30% of our lands and waters by 2030."

The coronavirus pandemic has sent greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. businesses plummeting to their lowest level in nearly three decades, according to analysis from BloombergNEF, an energy research group.

Greenhouse gases generated by the economy are projected to drop to 5.9 billion metric tons in 2020, down 9.2% compared to last year, the study says. That is about the same level seen in 1983, when the U.S. economy was less than 40% its current size.

Earth sweltered to a record hot September last month, with U.S. climate officials saying there’s nearly a two-to-one chance that 2020 will end up as the globe’s hottest year on record.

JOHANNESBURG — In a year of cataclysm, some world leaders at this week’s annual United Nations meeting are taking the long view, warning: If COVID-19 doesn’t kill us, climate change will.

The Restore Mother Nature Bond Act, which would have been the largest in state history, was supposed to reduce the risk of flooding for vulnerable communities, restore habitat, and prepare the state for climate change.

It’s become another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state’s environmental agency said “no” once again to a pipeline that would have carried natural gas into New York City – the second time in three months that energy giant Williams has been foiled in New York.

Back in February, after an eight-year regulatory battle with activists and the state of New York, and after what the company called a diminished anticipated return on its investment, Williams pulled the Constitution Pipeline project.

Assemblywoman Pat Fahy thinks New York is going to need a bigger bond act.

The Albany Democrat on Wednesday announced she is backing an even larger bond act to bolster the environment and combat climate change in New York than the original proposal of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday will announce the appointments of SUNY Empire President Jim Malatras and former Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation Commissioner Rose Harvey to a climate change council.

The appointments by Cuomo are key for the panel to begin its work of enacting a plan to reach targeted emissions reduction goals in the coming decades, and is being closely watched in environmental and climate policy circles.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed on Wednesday $3 billion in borrowing to help bolster the state's environment.

The proposal was the latest plan unveiled in his State of the State agenda, held in Albany and on the first day of the legislative session.

State judge on Tuesday ruled in favor of ExxonMobil in a wide-ranging case over whether the company misled shareholders on the effects of the business costs related to efforts to combat climate change.

The result is a victory for ExxonMobil in a case that dates back to Eric Schneiderman’s term in office.