NY Renews Statement on State of the State Address
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***: January 14th, 2021
Contact: Arielle Swernoff | (646) 450-5461 | arielle@nyrenews.org
Web: @NYRenews | www.nyrenews.org
NY Renews Statement on State of the State Address
“It’s clear that the CLCPA, passed in 2019 and supported by our 250+ member coalition, has already had huge impacts on not just state policy but on attitudes towards addressing climate change at every level of government. We were glad to hear Governor Cuomo focus on transitioning the entire economy to 100% renewable energy in line with the mandates of the CLCPA and not just stopping short at the electricity sector. We were also pleased that Governor Cuomo plans on including prevailing wage standards and project labor agreements for the green jobs created from this economy-wide transition. We have the opportunity to not just build a renewable future, but to ensure good jobs for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.
We want to particularly laud the commitment on off shore wind and the key related announcement of NYSERDA’s $200 million investment award to South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park, Brooklyn to become an off-shore wind assembly and staging port for NYC and the region. Environmental justice organizations, led by our Steering Committee member UPROSE, have been fighting for this for years to implement a green re-industrialization of NYC’s largest Significant Maritime Industrial Area (SMIA) to realize thousands of well-paid climate jobs. We hope that this is just the start of the kinds of programs we envisioned in the CLCPA and wish to see blossom across the state: community-led programs to create good jobs and build out our renewable infrastructure in frontline communities.
However, there were some critical places where the Governor’s speech fell short. Although he outlined big ideas, he didn’t mention any new revenue streams to fund this transition, and without money, these proposals remain just that — ideas. Given the Governor’s lack of commitment to raise revenue in his earlier State of the State address on Monday, we’re concerned that this is just more talk when we need action. The Climate and Community Investment Act, which will be introduced this session, would provide the money to create a just transition for our state.
Additionally, while the Governor mentioned that Black and Brown communities face disproportionate burdens from pollution and climate change, frontline communities must be front and center in any climate proposal. It is now New York law that any economy-wide transformation must include a goal that no less than 40% of climate action funds be specific and targeted investments in frontline communities. Further, New York climate action must prioritize community-led energy transformation in neighborhoods most impacted by pollution and climate change. This was made clear in the CLCPA, has been included in the Biden-Harris climate plan, and must be a core component and not an add-on to any state climate policy.
NY Renews, the coalition that proposed and campaigned for the CLCPA, has a plan to build out this just transition: the Climate and Community Investment Act. The CCIA would not just create hundreds of thousands of good jobs, transition every sector of our economy off of fossil fuels, and protect workers and communities impacted by that transition, but would invest billions of dollars in Black, brown, and low-income communities, and would make the corporations who have for too long poisoned our communities pay for it. We have the plan to fund a Just Transition. The question is: will Governor Cuomo commit to it?”
About NY Renews:
NY Renews is a coalition of over 250 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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