§ 75-0101 — Definitions

§ 75-0101. Definitions.\n For the purposes of this article the following terms shall have the\nfollowing meanings:\n 1. "Allowance" means an authorization to emit, during a specified\nyear, up to one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent.\n 2. "Carbon dioxide equivalent" means the amount of carbon dioxide by\nmass that would produce the same global warming impact as a given mass\nof another greenhouse gas over an integrated twenty-year time frame\nafter emission.\n 3. "Co-pollutants" means hazardous air pollutants produced by\ngreenhouse gas emissions sources.\n 4. "Council" means the New York state climate action council\nestablished pursuant to section 75-0103 of this article.\n 5. "Disadvantaged communities" means communities that bear burdens of\nnegative public health effects, environmental pollution, impacts of\nclimate change, and possess certain socioeconomic criteria, or comprise\nhigh-concentrations of low- and moderate- income households, as\nidentified pursuant to section 75-0111 of this article.\n 6. "Emissions reduction measures" means programs, measures and\nstandards, authorized pursuant to this chapter, applicable to sources or\ncategories of sources, that are designed to reduce emissions of\ngreenhouse gases.\n 7. "Greenhouse gas" means carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide,\nhydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and any other\nsubstance emitted into the air that may be reasonably anticipated to\ncause or contribute to anthropogenic climate change.\n 8. "Greenhouse gas emission limit" means the maximum allowable level\nof statewide greenhouse gas emissions, in a specified year, expressed in\ntons of carbon dioxide equivalent, as determined by the department\npursuant to this article.\n 9. "Greenhouse gas emission offset" means a deduction representing one\nmetric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, reduced, avoided, or\nsequestered by a greenhouse gas emission offset project from a measured\nbaseline of emissions pursuant to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions\nreport.\n 10. "Greenhouse gas emission offset projects" means one or more\nprojects, including:\n a. Natural carbon sinks including but not limited to afforestation,\nreforestation, or wetlands restoration;\n b. Greening infrastructure;\n c. Restoration and sustainable management of natural and urban forests\nor working lands, grasslands, coastal wetlands and sub-tidal habitats;\n d. Efforts to reduce hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant, sulfur\nhexafluoride, and other ozone depleting substance releases;\n e. Anaerobic digesters, where energy produced is directed toward\nlocalized use;\n f. Carbon capture and sequestration;\n g. Ecosystem restoration; and\n h. Other types of projects recommended by the council in consultation\nwith the climate justice working group that provide public health and\nenvironmental benefits, and do not create burdens in disadvantaged\ncommunities.\n 11. "Greenhouse gas emission source" or "source" means any\nanthropogenic source or category of anthropogenic sources of greenhouse\ngas emissions, determined by the department:\n a. whose participation in the program will enable the department to\neffectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and,\n b. that are capable of being monitored for compliance.\n 12. "Leakage" means a reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases\nwithin the state that is offset by an increase in emissions of\ngreenhouse gases outside of the state.\n 13. "Statewide greenhouse gas emissions" means the total annual\nemissions of greenhouse gases produced within the state from\nanthropogenic sources and greenhouse gases produced outside of the state\nthat are associated with the generation of electricity imported into the\nstate and the extraction and transmission of fossil fuels imported into\nthe state. Statewide emissions shall be expressed in tons of carbon\ndioxide equivalents.\n 14. "Statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit" or "statewide emissions\nlimit" means the maximum allowable level of statewide greenhouse gas\nemissions in a specified year, as determined by the department pursuant\nto this article.\n 15. "Environmental justice advisory group" shall mean the permanent\nenvironmental justice advisory group established by a chapter of the\nlaws of two thousand nineteen amending the environmental conservation\nlaw relating to establishing a permanent environmental justice advisory\ngroup and an environmental justice interagency coordinating council, as\nproposed in legislative bills numbers S. 2385 and A. 1564.\n