Majority of New York State Senators Support the CCPA

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***: March 7, 2019

Contact: Arielle Swernoff | (646) 450-5461 | arielle@nyrenews.org

Web: @NYRenews | www.nyrenews.org

Majority of New York Senators sign on to bill to transition NY to a fossil-fuel free economy by 2050

The Climate and Community Protection Act reaches milestone with more than half of Senators signed on as co-sponsors

Albany, NY -- A majority of New York State Senators have signed on as co-sponsors to ambitious climate justice and green jobs legislation, building momentum for passage in 2019.

The Climate and Community Protection Act (CCPA) is sponsored by Todd Kaminsky in the Senate and Steve Englebright in the Assembly. It establishes aggressive mandates to ensure New York achieves a 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the next 30 years, keeping the state in line with UN recommendations to avoid catastrophic global warming. The CCPA also includes the country’s most progressive jobs and equity provisions of any green legislation in the country. Under the CCPA, 40% of state energy and climate funds used to propel the transition must be invested in low-income communities and communities of color. In addition, the CCPA would attach fair labor standards, including prevailing wage standards, to green projects receiving state funding.  

“This legislation addresses climate change, one of the most important issues facing us today,” said Assemblymember Steven Englebright, lead sponsor of the CCPA in the State Assembly. “We have seen all too clearly the costs of failing to act on climate change with the devastating impact of Superstorm Sandy and hurricanes Irene and Lee.  The only way to limit the scale of destruction we have experienced over the last several years is to take direct action to reduce our environmental greenhouse gas emissions.  Passing this bill into law will result in cleaner air, lower health costs, produce good paying new jobs, and reduce the need for future taxes as the economic impact of future storms is lessened.”

“The CCPA will allow New York to lead the nation in producing green jobs, cutting carbon emissions, addressing climate justice and tackling the challenge of global warming head on, and I am proud to sponsor this important legislation,” said Senator Todd Kaminsky, lead sponsor of the CCPA in the State Senate.  

“The CCPA is not just about the environment. It’s about jobs, justice, and healthy communities,” said Eddie Bautista, Executive Director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance (NYC-EJA) and NY Renews Steering Committee Member. “We have two options: allow low income communities and communities of color to be hit hardest by a changing climate, or let our communities lead us in building a better world. The CCPA does the latter. The Senate and Assembly must pass it without delay.”

“At PUSH Buffalo, we have been practicing a just transition for several years, from weatherizing and solarizing homes and businesses using local labor to addressing water quality and ecological degradation through an emerging social enterprise model,” said Rahwa Ghirmatzion, Executive Director of PUSH Buffalo and NY Renews Steering Committee member. “The Climate and Community Protection Act will catalyze for other frontline communities in New York State what PUSH has been able to initiate in Buffalo - a community-oriented and just transition toward a 100% renewable energy economy. We urge the legislature to pass the CCPA today."

The CCPA has passed the New York State Assembly in the past three legislative sessions, but stalled in the previous State Senate. This year, both Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins have pointed to CCPA as the way forward for climate policy in NY.

About NY Renews:

NY Renews is a nonpartisan coalition of almost 170 member organizations. The coalition seeks a sustainable future for the earth and its people, recognizing that climate change represents a threat to all and especially to vulnerable people such as workers, people of color, seniors, youth, and the poor. NY Renews believes that the climate crisis and the inequality crisis can be solved with the same set of policies, and that climate protection must serve as a means to challenge racial injustice and bring about greater economic equity.

The NY Renews Steering Committee includes: 32BJ SEIU, ALIGN -- Alliance for a Greater New York, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Center for Working Families, Citizen Action of New York, Demos, Environmental Advocates of New York, GreenFaith, Long Island Progressive Coalition, Make the Road New York, NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, People’s Climate Movement NY, PUSH Buffalo, Sierra Club, Teamsters Local Council 16, and UPROSE.

Full list of 32 sponsors in the State Senate as of March 7, 2019: Senators Todd Kaminsky (lead sponsor), Brad Hoylman (first co-sponsor), Kevin Thomas, Anna M. Kaplan, John E. Brooks, James Sanders Jr., John C. Liu, Michael Gianaris, Jessica Ramos, Leroy Comrie, Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., Toby Ann Stavisky, Julia Salazar, Roxanne J. Persaud, Kevin S. Parker, Andrew Gounardes, Velmanette Montgomery, Brian Kavanagh, Liz Krueger, José M. Serrano, Brian A. Benjamin, Robert Jackson, Gustavo Rivera, Alessandra Biaggi, Jamaal T. Bailey, David Carlucci, James Skoufis, Pete Harckham, Neil D. Breslin, Rachel May, Timothy M. Kennedy, and Shelley Mayer.

Full list of 49 sponsors in the State Assembly as of March 7, 2019: Assembly Members Steven Englebright (lead sponsor), Barbara Lifton, Patricia Fahy, Felix Ortiz, Kevin Cahill, Latrice Walker, Robert C. Carroll, Linda Rosenthal, Fred Thiele, Ellen C. Jaffee, Jo Anne Simon, Steven Otis, Jeffrey Dinowitz, Jaime R. Williams, Nily Rozic, Thomas Abinanti, Walter T. Mosley, Didi Barrett, Phil Steck, Sandy Galef, Richard Gottfried, Donna Lupardo, Stacey Pheffer Amato, Carmen De La Rosa, Kimberly Jean-Pierre, William Colton, Michael Cusick, Crystal Peoples-Stokes, Rebecca Seawright, Victor M. Pichardo, David Weprin, Aravella Simotas, Deborah Glick, Nathalia Fernandez, Anthony D'Urso, Daniel O'Donnell, Judy Griffin, Karines Reyes, Patrick Burke, Michaelle C. Solages, Jamie Romeo, Albert A. Stirpe, William Magnarelli, Harvey Epstein, Al Taylor, Charles Fall, Catalina Cruz, Michael DenDekker, and Joseph Lentol.

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