NY Renews Statement: Governor Hochul and State Budget Director Washington should read their own agencies’ reports: New Yorkers can’t afford NOT to fully implement and fund the state’s climate law

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***: February 16, 2024

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

Web: @NYRenews | www.nyrenews.org

In response to State Budget Director Blake Washington’s comments on the NYS Budget, the NY Renews coalition, representing roughly 370 member organizations across the state, issued the following statement: 

Governor Kathy Hochul and State Budget Director Blake Washington have it backward and should read their own agencies’ reports. New Yorkers can't afford not to follow and fully fund the mandates of the state's climate law. We’re already paying through the nose for the damage caused by fossil fuel companies in health costs, home repairs, and local tax burdens. Comptroller DiNapoli's Office recently found that more than half of municipal spending in New York is now linked to climate change, with flooding-related projects like sewer system upgrades estimated to cost $100 billion in New York City alone and shoreline protection estimated to cost Long Island up to another $100 billion.  

If the Governor and the Budget Director are concerned with how to pay for the renewable energy transition, they should pass legislation like the NY HEAT Act, which would cap energy bills at no more than 6% of household income for those who need it most, and the Climate Change Superfund Act which would make the biggest corporate polluters pay up to $3 billion per year to repair the property and infrastructure they've destroyed with decades of pollution and climate change.

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NY Renews is a coalition of nearly 400 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. 

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