300 Activists Visit Every Member of the NY State Legislature to Demand Passage of the Climate & Community Protection Act
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***: April 9, 2019
Contact: Arielle Swernoff | (646) 450-5461 | arielle@nyrenews.org
Web: @NYRenews | www.nyrenews.org
300 Activists Visit Every Member of the NY State Legislature to Demand Passage of the Climate & Community Protection Act
Albany, New York -- Today, April 9th, over 300 activists came to Albany from across NY State to demand passage of the Climate and Community Protection Act. New Yorkers rallied in the Capitol building, and visited the office of every single New York state legislator to demand comprehensive climate justice legislation in 2019.
Climate activists concluded the day with a “People’s Climate Rally” in front of Governor Cuomo’s office, telling the governor to lead the nation on climate justice by passing the Climate and Community Protection Act.
The Climate and Community Protection Act would set an enforceable mandate to ensure New York achieves a 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while investing funds in low-income communities and communities of color and creating good, green jobs. New York would be the second state in the country, after Hawaii, to pass a mandate for a 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
“Greedy corporations are destroying our communities and planet for the sake of profit,” says John Zhune, member of Make the Road New York. “If our state electeds do not act on the Climate and Community Protection Act; the most ambitious climate bill in NYS, they are just as bad as the corporations causing harm. This is about our climate, our health and our economy. Let's get it done.”
“Long Island is on the frontline of climate change. Our coastal communities are threatened by sea-level rise; families are still recovering from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy; and neighborhoods are overburdened with air pollution from fossil fuels, causing cancers and heart disease. We need to pass the Climate and Community Protection Act now to move NYS to 100% renewable energy and invest in communities most impacted by the crisis,” said Ryan Madden, Sustainably Organizer for the Long Island Progressive Coalition.
“Climate change is the single greatest threat to the health, safety, and quality of life of New York’s families. Unless we take bold action in the next decade, our children and grandchildren will inherit an unrecognizable world. Yet this challenge also presents an opportunity to transform our economy into one that is more fair and just, in which prosperity is shared by everyone. The Climate and Community Protection Act is our best chance to start down the road to a carbon-free energy system that will bring tens of thousands of jobs to our state and make New York a leader in the economy of the future,” said Senator Liz Krueger.
“We cannot afford to delay any longer in making the shift to a clean energy economy. At the public hearing convened by Senator Skoufis and I on the Climate and Community Protection Act in March, there was wide consensus that we need bold action to address the climate crisis,” said Senator Jen Metzger. “The good news is that we can create thousands of good-paying green jobs in the process, while achieving true energy security for New York.”
For photos of this event, please see our online folder: https://photos.app.goo.gl/nPhWJVL1MhnbnNJ9A
About the Climate and Community Protection Act:
The Climate and Community Protection Act is a landmark climate justice bill that creates a green economy while investing in good jobs and racial and economic justice. 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.
The CCPA has passed the New York State Assembly in the past three legislative sessions, and is currently sponsored by a majority of State Senators. 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.
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