It’s a New Year, But NY’s Environmental Groups Are Fighting Old Battles
Counteracting Donald Trump’s plans to expand the national use of planet-warming fossil fuels, New York’s environmental advocates are gearing up for an on-going battle to solidify the shift to cleaner energy sources at home.
“There is a tremendous amount of concern and urgency” to move the state’s progressive climate agenda forward, said Stephan Edel, executive director of the environmental coalition NY Renews. “It is not an appropriate moment to weaken our commitment to climate response.”
Edel and others say the political climate creates more urgency to get old items that have long been on their climate agenda across the finish line. These big ticket policies are part of a larger plan to nearly phase out fossil fuels by 2050, as outlined by New York’s landmark climate law, the Climate Leadership and Protection Act (CLCPA).
That means ironing out the details of a Cap-and-Invest program unveiled by Gov. Kathy Hochul two years ago that would put a price on carbon pollution.