Marie J. French at Politico reports that after a backlash from environmental advocates and lawmakers, Gov. Kathy Hochul has backed off her recent proposal to rewrite the climate law to save money in the state budget. Hochul wanted to change the way some fossil fuels pollution was calculated, making it friendlier to gas and oil industries. Liz Moran, the New York policy advocate for Earthjustice, said, “This is a conversation that really sidetracked us from being able to have a meaningful conversation for about a week,.... What took place over the past week should not be repeated.” Moran said environmentalists will now focus on electrifying new buildings, limiting gas utility expansion, and a cap on utility bill expenses for low and moderate income New York residents. But with Albany talking about extending the budget deadline a second time, positions on these issues could change again. Read more about this story at Politico.