NY Renews Statement on the 2023-2024 Executive Budget Address
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***: February 1, 2023
Contact: Marie Scarles, marie@nyrenews.org, (646) 389-8429
Web: @NYRenews | www.nyrenews.org
Today, Governor Hochul released the 2023-2024 Executive Budget Proposal. In response, NY Renews, the state’s largest climate and environmental justice coalition and the driving force behind the State’s landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), issued the following statement:
Governor Hochul's budget speech signaled her commitment to a cap and invest program that could raise billions of dollars to support healthy home upgrades and help those New Yorkers hit hardest by high electric bills. These types of investments are what New Yorkers need, but our state leaders cannot be satisfied with half-measures.
To start tackling the climate crisis—a problem that, as the Governor says, risks the lives of our children, grandchildren, and our planet—we need a minimum investment of $10 billion annually with increases every year. New York must be bold to meet the moment: we need multi-billion-dollar programs, funded by polluting corporations and the ultra-wealthy in addition to cap and invest, to launch a just transition and protect our families in the face of an existential threat.
New Yorkers will need state support in the inevitable transition to renewable energy. We need more programs and clear legal protections for frontline and disadvantaged communities. And we need tens of thousands of union jobs in clean, renewable energy. NY Renews looks forward to digging into the details and advocating for the investments we need to make real progress for our people.
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About NY Renews: NY Renews is a coalition of over 340 member organizations across every part of New York State, and the force behind the nation’s most progressive climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Today, we’re advocating for the fully funded implementation of the climate law through the Climate, Jobs & Justice Package, while working together towards a just transition to 100 percent renewable energy in New York.