300 activists from across New York State deliver testimony and rally outside of state budget hearing to demand funding for climate justice
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***: January 27, 2020
Contact: Arielle Swernoff | (646) 450-5461 | arielle@nyrenews.org
Web: @NYRenews | www.nyrenews.org
Albany, NY — Nearly 300 activists from across the state delivered testimony demanding funding for climate, jobs and justice in the New York State budget. Members of NY Renews, a coalition of nearly 200 organizations, also held signs in the hearing that read, “Climate Justice Now.” Earlier in the day, the group visited every Assemblymember and Senator to lobby for their demand of at least $1 billion in the FY 2020/2021 budget to begin the process of implementing the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, New York’s nation-leading climate law.
State Senators Rachel May, Jessica Ramos, Robert Jackson and Assemblymembers Robert Carroll, Harvey Epstein, and Felix Ortiz.
“One billion is just the beginning,” said Bob Cohen, Policy Director at Citizen Action New York and a NY Renews Steering Committee member. “We need to rapidly move our economy off of fossil fuels and invest in communities most impacted by the climate crisis. By voting to pass the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, our legislators made a promise to the people of New York that our state would work for climate, jobs, and justice. They can begin to fulfill that promise by allocating at least $1 billion in this year’s budget to meet New York’s climate justice goals.”
NY Renews, the coalition that organized today’s day of action, pushed for four years to pass the bill that became the basis for the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The coalition is made up of members from across the state, including environmental justice, multi-issue, labor, faith, and other groups.
“Governor Cuomo named the climate crisis as the most pressing issue of our time in his budget presentation, but his rhetoric doesn’t match the reality,” said Priya Mulgoankar, Resiliency Planner at the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance and a Steering Committee member of NY Renews. “He is repackaging old funds, and our communities need new, dedicated streams of funding to address the rapidly growing climate and inequity crises. We’re here to say that our communities don’t need smoke and mirrors — they need real investments, now.”
“I want my grandkids to grow up without fear of climate catastrophe,” said State Senator Robert Jackson. “Our future hangs in the balance here. I call on my colleagues in the legislature to send a strong message that this one billion dollar budget ask for climate justice must be included in our Senate and Assembly one-house budgets, along with revenue generating mechanisms to pay for it.”
In addition to the $1 billion in this year’s budget, NY Renews is also pushing to pass the Climate and Community Investment Act, which would levy a fine on corporate polluters and re-invest funds in Just Transition programs in New York.
About NY Renews:
NY Renews is a coalition of nearly 200 environmental, justice, faith, labor, and community groups, and the force behind the nation’s most progressive climate law, New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The coalition fights for good jobs and climate justice in New York State.
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