NY Renews Climate Justice Action Week
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
May 22, 2024
Contact: Zasu Scott, zasu@nyrenews.org , 347-313-8209
Web: @NYRenews | www.nyrenews.org
NY Renews Coalition Groups and Climate Movement Allies Held
“Climate Justice Action Week” at the NY State Capitol
NY’s climate justice movement held three days of action calling on
Governor Hochul and the NYS Assembly to pass
NY HEAT, the Just Energy Transition Act, and the Climate Superfund Act
From Monday, May 20 to Wednesday, May 22 at the New York State Capitol, NY Renews coalition groups and allies from the state’s climate and environmental justice (EJ) movement held a series of events calling on the Governor and New York State Assembly to pass the NY HEAT Act, Just Energy Transition Act, and Climate Change Superfund Act (aka the Climate, Jobs & Justice Package) before the end of session. The Climate Justice Action Week constituted an outpouring of anger following the release of a state budget that included nothing for climate crisis mitigation and adaptation, no new climate justice funding, and omitted the Climate, Jobs & Justice Package’s legislative priorities, all of which have a broad base of popular and legislative support.
On Monday, faith groups including Greenfaith, Dayenu, and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC-NY) were joined by the lead sponsor of the Climate Superfund Act Assemblyman Dinowitz to speak out about the moral failure of the Governor and Assembly to address the catastrophic impacts of the climate crisis on New Yorkers - especially on households already struggling to get by in the face of economic and structural marginalization.
On Tuesday, the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance (NYC-EJA), NY Renews and other environmental justice organizations rallied with lawmakers at the Capitol to demand the Assembly pass the Just Energy Transition Act, or JETA (S2935-C) / (A4866-C), shortly after the bill moved through the Assembly Energy Committee. JETA would require the state to conduct a comprehensive review of how to phase out New York State’s oldest and most environmentally destructive fossil fuels-generating facilities by 2030 while prioritizing an equitable energy transition for all New Yorkers. Advocates were joined by Assembly sponsor Anna Kelles and Senate sponsor Kevin Parker.
On Wednesday, the NY Renews Coalition and Renewable Heat Now Campaign joined forces, to urge passage of the full NY HEAT Act, as the Assembly sits on the bill. One hundred and fifty advocates were joined by a bench of more than a dozen legislators, including eight members of the Assembly demonstrating support for NY HEAT in the chamber. If passed in full, the NY HEAT Act would save families from rising energy costs by limiting household utility bills to 6% of a family’s income, kickstarting New York’s clean energy transition at the same time.
The NY Renews coalition and New York State’s climate and environmental justice movement are angry at the complete lack of action from Governor Hochul and the State Assembly this year. The Assembly, which was so pivotal in passing the state’s Climate Act, has become the chamber where climate bills go to die. Event organizers focused each action around the failures on the part of state leadership to secure a just climate future: it is a moral failure from the faith perspective; a failure of justice in the eyes of EJ advocates; and a failure when it comes to clean and affordable energy in the eyes of energy advocates. With just days left in session, these failures could be remedied with the passage of the full Climate, Jobs, and Justice Package, which has already passed the Senate.
Stephan Edel, Executive Director of NY Renews said, “Governor Hochul and the State Assembly have failed the people of New York when it comes to climate action. Even amid a record-breaking year of heatwaves, wildfires, floods, and more, they have refused to take meaningful action. Governor Hochul claims that she cares about the future of our families and children while refusing to pass critical climate legislation and allocating no new money for climate justice in the state budget, and the Assembly, which was so pivotal in passing the state’s Climate Act, has become the chamber where climate bills go to die. Governor Hochul and the New York State Assembly: Session isn’t over. You still have time to turn 2024—and New York State—around by passing the NY HEAT, Climate Superfund, and Just Energy Transition (JETA) Acts."
"New York's Assembly leadership pulled the rug out from under New Yorkers by removing the NY HEAT Act from the final budget. The Assembly must do right by their constituents and pass the standalone bill this session to lower utility bills and support the clean energy transition. By pushing needed climate action later and later, the Assembly is placing the worsening impacts of the climate crisis squarely on the backs of today's youth and environmental justice communities," said Megan Ahearn, NYPIRG Program Director.
Rabbi Jennie Rosenn of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, calls out the urgent need to act: “We have a short window of time in which to address the climate crisis and ensure that we can continue to live l’dor v’dor – from generation to generation. We find ourselves asking unimaginable questions: What will life be for our children and grandchildren? Will all people have clean air to breathe and water to drink? Jewish values call us to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis: Shomrei adamah (protect the earth); shomer ger yatom v’almanah (protect the vulnerable); and most essentially of all bacharta b'chayim (choose life). Not taking action to mitigate the crisis and protect all people – when we know what to do – is not just unwise, it is shameful."
Eddie Bautista, Executive Director, New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, said: JETA is crucial to upholding New York’s commitment to a greener future and clean jobs, as required by existing state law. The bill would be transformational for New Yorkers, and it would finally help reduce our heavy reliance on dangerous fossil-fuels generated energy — which is disproportionately killing and harming environmental justice communities. We’re grateful to the Senate for recognizing the need to ensure a just, well-reasoned energy transition, and we urge the Assembly to step up and finish the job before the end of session.”
Senator Liz Krueger, who carries the NY HEAT Act in the Senate, spoke to NY’s energy affordability crisis: “It’s time for New York to end the gas mandate that is driving skyrocketing energy rates in every corner of our state. Ratepayers are being forced to spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year to subsidize an unaffordable status quo that is expensive, old, leaky, cold, and dangerous. NY HEAT’s opponents are on the Pay More Plan; they want you to pay more for the same old unaffordable system. NY HEAT is the Pay Less Plan; under NY HEAT you will pay less for a better, more reliable, more affordable system that is able to meet the challenges of the future. Instead of sticking our heads in the sand and wishing away the transition that’s already happening, the full NY HEAT Act is the plan we need to protect New York ratepayers, build the unionized decarbonization workforce of the future, and ensure the transition will be orderly, affordable, and equitable for all New Yorkers.”
Senator Kevin Parker, sponsor of the Just Energy Transition Act, spoke to the need for CLCPA implementation: “The CLCPA is the most aggressive climate law in the country. But it’s an environmental bill. It doesn’t speak to the actual process that we need to go through as a state to make sure that we are transitioning into a clean energy economy. JETA is the energy plan. That clean energy economy also needs to be a just economic economy. Our plans are really important to force the state and energy industry into a space in which they understand the next iterations of producing energy in our state have to be without… the things we’ve been suffering through in our communities for generations.”
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, sponsor of the Climate Change Superfund Act said: "The Climate Change Superfund Act (A.3351) represents a crucial step in addressing the immediate and severe threat climate change poses to New York's communities, environment, and economy. By holding companies that have significantly contributed to greenhouse gas emissions accountable, this bill ensures they share in the responsibility for the necessary investments to adapt our infrastructure to the irreversible impacts of climate change. This innovative program aligns with the principle that polluters should pay for the damage they cause and prioritizes the safety, welfare, and quality of life for future generations of New Yorkers. It's time for the entities that profited from fossil fuels to bear their fair share of the costs, ensuring a resilient and sustainable future for all."
“Passing the Just Energy Transition Act (JETA) would help kickstart the transition of New York’s most polluting fossil-fuel power plants into renewable energy hubs, creating jobs and improving air quality in environmental justice communities,” said Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, representing Assembly District 36, including parts of Astoria and Long Island City. “JETA would lead to better health for Queens residents, a more reliable energy grid, and a stronger economy across New York State while retiring some of the most polluting fossil-fueled power plants that poison frontline working class communities of color across our city by turning them into powerful union job hubs.”
Photos of this event can be found here.
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NY Renews is a coalition of over 380 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.