NY Renews Statement on the 2022 One-House Budget Proposals
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***: March 14, 2022
Contact: Lala Peñaranda | lala@nyrenews.org | (301) 526-1312
Web: @NYRenews | www.nyrenews.org
Statement on One-House Budget Proposals 2022
In response to the one-house budget proposals released over the weekend by the New York State Senate and Assembly, NY Renews issued the following statement:
The Senate and Assembly’s one-house budgets do not go far enough, and do not move fast enough, to either decrease climate pollution or protect our communities—especially Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income communities on the front lines—from stronger storms, increased flooding, and devastating heat waves inflicted by the climate crisis. Though there are particular proposals in each budget that NY Renews supports, overall these budgets fail to invest in climate solutions at the scale needed to support a just transition.
Before the budget is finalized, the Legislature and Governor must create a long-term funding mechanism to ensure annual and dependable investments in climate justice. Anything less means New Yorkers will continue to pay the price with our culture, land, and lives.
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BACKGROUND: The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) became law on January 1, 2020, and committed New York to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2050 and prioritizing pollution reductions and revenue spending in disadvantaged communities. To meet these goals, New York Renews called for $15 billion in the budget for climate justice. The current proposed budgets fall short of the state’s legal mandate to mitigate the effects of climate change and address environmental racism. We can and must do better. Now is the time to fund climate justice.