NEW YORK • New York lawmakers have agreed to pass a sweeping climate plan that calls for the state to all but eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, envisioning an era when petrol-guzzling cars and oil-burning heaters would be phased out, and all of the state's electricity would come from carbon-free sources.

Under an agreement reached this week between legislative leaders and Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act would require the state to slash its planet-warming pollution 85 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050 and offset the remaining 15 per cent, possibly through measures to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

If the state manages to hit those targets, it would effectively create a so-called net-zero economy, the ultimate goal of environmentalists and others seeking to slow the pace of global warming.

New York's Bill, which comes amid a number of Democratic presidential candidates proposing net-zero targets for the United States, could set one of the most ambitious climate targets by a legislature anywhere in the world.

The challenges of reaching such goals are daunting. There are numerous questions about whether the energy, real estate and business communities could adapt by 2050 and how much it would cost to do so. Business groups in the state have derided the Bill as impractical and potentially disastrous for firms forced to move to green energy sources.

The Bill requires New York to get 70 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar and hydropower by 2030 and shift entirely to carbon-free power a decade later.

But every corner of the state's economy would need to become drastically cleaner, including industrial facilities, heating for residential homes and office buildings, and the transportation system, including about 10 million cars, trucks and buses.

NYTIMES