Governor Hochul under fire for "backtracks" in climate priorities
WBFO-FM 88.7 | By Michael Loss
Climate groups statewide are calling out Governor Kathy Hochul for what they see as backtracks on climate priorities. More than half a dozen rallies have occurred across the state outside her various regional offices.
As a part of the NY Renews Coalitions Week of Action, urgency, accountability, and frustration were the themes highlighted in a climate activist rally held outside Governor Kathy Hochul’s regional Buffalo office.
The crowd gathered on the corner of Mississippi and Perry Street, featuring several local climate organizers fueled by their anger with the Governor's recent decisions on certain climate legislation, and their outlook of the upcoming State budget deadline not prioritizing environmental policies.
PUSH Buffalo Climate Justice Organizer Dr. Majadi Baruti says actions such as an indefinite pause to the Cap-and-Invest program for fossil fuels, which was announced in Hochul’s State of the State address, have fractured trust from some.
“The people of this beautiful state did not give her permission to leave us at this time of crisis,” Baruti said. “Our Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, our law which she is supposed to execute to meet the greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and to meet equitable investment mandates. She has ignored them; she has dropped the ball.”