1 The Energy Transition in New York: A Greenhouse Gas, Net Energy and Life-Cycle Energy Analysis David J. Murphy, and Marco Raugei* Dr. David J. Murphy 205 Memorial Hall, 2 Romoda Dr., Canton NY 13617, USA E-mail: dmurphy@stlawu.edu Dr. Marco Raugei Oxford Brookes University, Wheatley Campus, OX33 1HX, UK E-mail: marco.raugei@brookes.ac.uk Keywords: electricity, energy transition, EROI, LCA, carbon emissions Abstract New York state is at the forefront in the USA and also high on the list globally in setting ambitious targets for the transition to renewable electricity, with 70% of generation mandated to be renewable by 2030. The consequences of the associated drastic shift from conventional steam generators to a mix of wind, photovoltaic and hydroelectric (supplemented by pumped hydro storage to ensure dispatchability) is analysed here from the joint points of view of life cycle assessment (LCA) and net energy analysis (NEA). Results indicate that not only is the target effective at drastically reducing the grid mix’s carbon emissions and at halving its cumulative demand for imported non-renewable primary energy, but – contrary to often voiced concerns – it is also compatible with sustaining the current level of net energy delivery (after accounting for the energy investments required to deploy and operate all generators). 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Climate change is one of the most important challenges facing global society, and yet, despite almost three decades of concerted efforts, there is still no global policy program to address it. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was created in 1992, and 195 countries joined the original international agreement. UNFCCC negotiations led to the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, which set a target for 37 industrialised countries to reduce their emissions. Continuing UNFCCC negotiations then led to the Paris Agreement in December 2015 (COP21), which shifted the focus to the consequences of carbon emissions, and set the