NY Renews Coalition Releases People’s Climate Justice Budget for New York State in 2024 

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***: October 13, 2023

Contact: Marie Scarles, marie@nyrenews.org, (646) 389-8429

Web: @NYRenews | www.nyrenews.org


The People’s Climate Justice Budget includes $1B in “shovel-ready” projects that could be launched or funded in 2024

New York State – The NY Renews coalition, representing over 370 organizations across the State of New York, released the People’s Climate Justice Budget in a letter to Governor Hochul, legislative leadership, and key agency heads this morning.

The People’s Climate Justice Budget is a $1 billion spending plan developed by and for New Yorkers. It outlines critical climate and environmental justice programs that New York must fund in 2024 as a downpayment on the more than $10 billion a year the state estimates is necessary to address the crisis at scale. With the creation of the Climate Action Fund (CAF) in 2023, New York has a historic opportunity to send billions to communities across the state in 2024. 

The coalition’s budget letter called on NYS leadership to:

  • Invest at least $1 billion of “shovel-ready” appropriations via the Climate Action Fund (CAF) in 2024 by passing the People's Climate Justice Budget

  • Include a Community Directed Climate Solutions Account in the CAF

  • Support a Gap Fund to help renters and homeowners address buildings’ structural deficiencies to prepare for electrification

  • Include the Just Energy Transition Act in the executive budget 

  • Ensure polluters pay their fair share by including the Climate Change Superfund Act in the executive budget

  • Include the NY HEAT Act in the executive budget

“The People’s Climate Justice Budget was developed by and for the people of New York,” said Stephan Edel, Executive Director of NY Renews. “The $1 billion spending plan is a mere fraction of the State’s overall $230 million budget and is far less than we spend on other public safety programs. It would represent a critical downpayment toward the $10-15 billion we’ll need to weather the crisis over the coming decades. By putting $1 billion into the Climate Action Fund this year, we can drive down pollution and the long-term costs of energy for households and small businesses while saving thousands of lives that would otherwise be lost due to disaster unpreparedness, toxic air, and unchecked burning of fossil fuels.”

“New Yorkers should not be stuck with the costs of climate damages when it's Big Oil's fault,” said Blair Horner, Executive Director of NYPIRG. “They have done all they can to block the necessary steps that could have averted the climate crisis. They should pay and the Climate Change Superfund protects the public from increased prices. Governor Hochul must embrace the People’s Climate Justice Budget to ensure that the state is prepared for a rapidly changing climate and that programs are implemented to transition to a green economy. The climate clock is ticking and it's too close to midnight.”

“So much more needs to be done to update our energy grid, shore up our coastal regions, make our homes safer, lower our energy bills, and protect the most vulnerable communities from rising seas, worsening storms, and extreme weather,” said Eddie Bautista, Executive Director of NYC Environmental Justice Alliance. “The Governor and State Legislature must adopt the People’s Climate Justice Budget to ensure that New York can begin to address the incredible scale of the climate crisis we are collectively experiencing.”

"It’s time we kickstart a pollution-free, resilient climate future built by workers with good union jobs, ensuring a healthy, livable state for generations to come. Every day we continue to rely on the status quo, including addressing climate change only using ratepayer funding, we are falling further and further behind and harming New Yorkers,” said Conor Bambrick, Director of Policy, Environmental Advocates NY.

###

NY Renews is a coalition of over 370 environmental justice, community, faith, labor, and multi-issue organizations fighting for just climate policy in New York State. We're the force behind the nation's most progressive climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Learn more at nyrenews.org.

NY Renews