New York’s 2019 climate law (the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act or the “CLCPA”) sets New York on a path toward ending our dependence on climate destroying oil and gas. As the climate crisis worsens, there is no time to waste to make the necessary transition toward clean and affordable renewable energy. 

OUR DEMANDS

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• Enforce and fully fund the climate law with detailed plans for state agency action

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• No new fossil fuel projects, shut down existing fossil fuel infrastructure and no subsidies to the fossil fuel industry

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• Accelerate the transition to locally built, community-powered renewable energy with quality union jobs for workers

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• No funding for new nuclear reactors and no false solutions such as carbon capture, renewable “natural” gas and biofuels

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• Help low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color transition to renewable energy and address the harms to their communities caused by fossil fuels 

 

REVENUE PROPOSALS 

Cap-and-Invest: The climate law requires New York to develop regulations by January 1, 2024 to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions sufficient to meet the climate law targets. Governor Hochul proposed a cap-and-invest program to meet the mandate. However, she has thus far refused to release proposed regulations. As a result of a lawsuit by climate advocates, Hochul was ordered to release the regulations. We demand the implementation of a strong cap-and-invest program that includes comprehensive reporting and enforceable annual GHG reductions, and that prohibits allowance trading. A cap-and-invest system will raise billions of dollars annually for climate programs, including renewable energy, public transit, greening our schools and housing, and resilience for frontline communities. Our proposals as to how to design cap-and-invest, along with a CLCPA enforcement provision, are laid out in A3975 Kelles/S4651 Parker.

Invest in Our New York (IONY):  We support a package of bills advanced by the IONY coalition focused on tax fairness and raising revenue through taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and large corporations. Revenue would go to the state general fund for priorities including housing, climate and education. The package includes: 1) revisions to the state income tax system to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers (A1281 Meeks/S1622 Jackson; 2) an increase in corporate taxes on companies with over $2.5 million in profits (A1971 Kelles/S953 Hoylman-Sigal; 3) capital gains tax reforms (A676 Kim/S1439 Rivera); and 4) an “heirs’ tax” on inheritances of over $250,000 (A2049 Solages/S914 Brisport). 

Stop Climate Polluter Handouts Act: Eliminates over $330 million in tax handouts to the fossil fuel industry, targeting the highest polluting fuels and their most unreasonable uses, including commercial airline fuel, low-grade "bunker" fuel and the operation of fracked gas infrastructure. Tax breaks that benefit the public such as home heating are not eliminated (A3675 Simon/S3606 Krueger).

LEGISLATION AND SPENDING PRIORITIES

$3 Billion in Sustainable Future Funding: The 2025-26 state budget included $1 billion to create the Sustainable Future Program. We call for $3 billion in funding in the 2026-27 budget for the Program, the minimum amount cap-and-invest would have generated in the first year had the Governor established the program, as originally promised. According to state data, up to $10 billion in public and private funds are needed to meet the goals of the law. The money will be used for purposes like reducing greenhouse gas emissions in buildings, zero emission transportation, and renewable energy generating projects. 35% with a goal of 40% of the benefits of funding will go to disadvantaged communities, as the climate law requires.

Bucks for Boilers: Starting in 2030 for smaller buildings and 2035 for larger ones, the Bucks for Boilers bill would provide necessary subsidies to households to repair and weatherize their homes and upgrade to clean and higher efficiency heat pumps, phasing out old climate polluting gas-fueled boilers when their systems need replacement. The bill authorizes $50,000 per household for the work and offers upfront full-coverage subsidies to low- and moderate-income households. (A6489 Stirpe/S3476 Rivera). 

Expanding Use of Solar: We support a solar bill package which includes: 1) the Accelerate Solar for Affordable Power (ASAP) bill, which raises New York’s distributed solar capacity for residential, commercial and community solar with a goal of 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2035 (A8758 Barrett/S6570 Harckham); 2) legislation to expedite permitting and to lower costs for residential solar (A6270 Cunningham/S5781 Harckham); 3) the Community SOLAR Act, which expedites permitting and lowers costs for community solar (A9087 Levenberg/S8119 Parker); and the 4) Solar Up Now New York Act (“SUNNY Act”), which exempts small-scale balcony or plug-in solar from the existing interconnection and net metering requirements for conventional solar panels, and prohibits utilities from approving or disapproving installation of these technologies, or charging customers a fee for installation (A9111 Gallagher/S8512 Krueger).

Insure Our Communities Act: This bill would prevent New York-based providers of homeowners insurance from insuring new fossil fuel projects, require insurers to divest their investments from fossil fuel companies and projects, strengthen anti-discrimination requirements for insurance and climate risk (“blue-lining”), prohibit insurers from dropping coverage for one year after a disaster and require insurers to make community investments in disadvantaged communities (A3842 Forrest/S186 Hoylman-Sigal). 

No Funding for Unaffordable Nuclear Energy: New York should not build any new nuclear power plants: they are too expensive and will not help the state meet its climate goals. The legislature should block the Governor’s directive to the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to build a nuclear power plant, and any public funding or bonding to build new reactors. Instead of the Hochul administration’s proposal to lock in as much as $30 billion of ratepayer subsidies for old reactors from 2029 to 2049, funds should be invested in affordable, safe, renewable energy: assisting homeowners and small businesses to decarbonize buildings, and battery storage, energy efficiency, geothermal, demand management, major grid and transmission upgrades, and other needed climate law activities.  

Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act: Requires companies to reduce their product packaging by 30% in 12 years, including petroleum-based plastics, and bans 17 priority toxic chemicals in packaging materials (A1749 Glick/S1464 Harckham).

Renewable Capitol Act: Requires the Office of General Services (OGS) and NYPA to ensure that all operations that power, heat or cool state buildings in downtown Albany – including the Empire State Plaza and the Capitol – transition to renewable systems within three years. This bill will close the Sheridan Avenue Steam Plant that has polluted the disadvantaged community of Sheridan Hollow for over 100 years (A3466 Romero/S4842 Fahy).

AGENCY PROPOSALS 

Consumer Representation before the Public Service Commission (PSC): In rate cases before the PSC, utilities have major advantages over climate and consumer advocates, including funds to hire lawyers, economists and other professionals. We therefore support legislation to lessen these power disparities and to give consumers and climate advocates a meaningful say in PSC proceedings. Specifically, we support bills to: 1) establish the “State Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate” to represent residential utility customers before the PSC and other state and federal agencies (A2468 Dinowitz/S6277 Scarcella-Spanton), and 2)  to permit intervenors representing residential or small business customers to be reimbursed for their participation in rate and other formal PSC proceedings (S2477 Parker/A836 Solages).

New York Power Authority and Publicly Owned Utilities: The Build Public Renewables Act, signed by the Governor in 2023, empowers and directs NYPA to build 15 GW of renewables by 2030, including wind, solar and geothermal power to reach the renewable generation mandates of the climate law. We call upon NYPA to meet the 15 GW by 2030 goal and to accelerate development to secure the remaining federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits. We also support the Hudson Valley Power Authority Act (HVPA), which creates a new public authority and calls for its acquisition of the investor-owned gas and electric utility Central Hudson. This will remove the expensive return on equity included in utility rates and eliminate the motive to continuously expand the gas infrastructure to increase profits. No taxpayer dollars will be used for the buyout or operations of the HVPA (A2127 Shrestha/S2026 Hinchey). 

No New Pipelines: New York should deny any permit to expand capacity for existing fracked gas pipelines or to allow the construction of any new pipeline. Expanding pipelines is dangerous and contrary to the climate law requirement that New York cut greenhouse gas emissions and transition to renewable energy generation. Currently under consideration is the expansion of the Enbridge Pipeline, and two pipelines being pushed by Trump: the NESE Williams Pipeline, which was recently approved by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and the Constitution Pipeline. (The NESE pipeline approval is presently under appeal.) 

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Climate Can't Wait is a collaborative of organizations that have joined together to demand that the New York State Legislature and the Governor take urgent and bold action on climate. The proposals in this Policy Agenda represent active campaigns that a number of our organizations are working on. Please note that not all points on this Agenda are necessarily supported by all CCW member organizations.