NY Renews Coalition Statement: No Cap and Invest without Climate and Community Protections
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***: April 13, 2023
Contact: Marie Scarles, marie@nyrenews.org, (646) 389-8429
Web: @NYRenews | www.nyrenews.org
NY RENEWS COALITION STATEMENT:
No Cap and Invest without Climate and Community Protections
NEW YORK STATE – As New Yorkers face high energy costs, driven by fossil fuel price gouging, Governor Hochul continues to signal her concerns about the cost implications of New York’s mandated transition to renewable energy and pushing a Cap-and-Invest model for raising funds for climate action. While the state budget deliberations continue, the NY Renews coalition, representing hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers from communities statewide, issued the following statement:
“Our stance is clear: There’s no viable Cap and Invest (C&I) system for New York State without the Climate and Community Protection Fund (CCPF) and guardrails to ensure the program is just, equitable, and does what it's intended to do—make polluters pay for their waste and direct money raised back to the communities impacted first and worst by the climate crisis and environmental harm, racism, and inequality. CCPF brings the invest part of ‘Cap and Invest’ to life.
NY Renews coalition members have worked hard to develop both a spending plan—the CCPF—and an overall legislative agenda—the Climate, Jobs, and Justice Package—to transition New York State to a renewable energy economy as mandated by the state’s 2019 Climate Act while saving the state and working New Yorkers money, thousands of lives, and our climate. The CCPF has nation-leading labor standards to ensure our energy future is built by workers with good, union jobs and builds in rebates and community investments to direct money back to communities and workers, and for transitioning our state’s infrastructure and economy from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
Governor Hochul is setting up a false dichotomy between cost and climate action. The Climate, Jobs & Justice Package directly addresses this. We have an equitable climate roadmap for communities across the state that reduces costs. Now it’s up to the Governor and NYS Legislature to bring this vision for a just, affordable, and healthy New York State to life.”
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NY Renews is a coalition of more than 350 environmental justice, community, faith, labor, and multi-issue organizations fighting for just climate policy for New Yorkers. We are the force behind the nation's most aggressive climate law, the NY State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, enacted in 2019. The Climate, Jobs & Justice Package is the next step in our fight for climate justice in New York.