Climate and Community Protection Act Reaches Majority Sponsorship in Both Senate and Assembly
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***: June 5, 2019
Contact: Arielle Swernoff | (646) 450-5461 | arielle@nyrenews.org
Web: @NYRenews | www.nyrenews.org
Climate and Community Protection Act Reaches Majority Sponsorship in Both Senate and Assembly
With majority sponsorship in both houses, activists demand vote on landmark climate justice legislation
Albany, NY -- Seventy six New York State Assemblymembers have signed on to aggressive climate justice legislation, giving the Climate and Community Protection Act (CCPA, S2992/A3876) a majority of sponsors in both houses of the legislature.
“We're thrilled to have a majority of both our Assemblymembers and Senators signed onto the Climate & Community Protection Act, as well as the Speaker and Senate Leader's consistent support. It's time for a vote on the CCPA. There's no time to waste on protecting New Yorkers from climate change, creating green jobs, and making sure we do it with racial and economic justice at the center. We have the votes – what are we waiting for?” said Bill Lipton, NY Working Families director.
The Climate and Community Protection Act establishes aggressive mandates to ensure New York achieves a 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the next 30 years. 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.
In addition to majority sponsorship in both houses of the New York State Legislature, the CCPA is supported by Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, Congresswomen Ocasio-Cortez, Velazquez, and ten other members of Congress, as well as 180 community, environmental, policy, and labor organizations.
About NY Renews:
NY Renews is a nonpartisan coalition of over 180 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.
###