Governor Kathy Hochul is responsible for ensuring that New York meets its climate goals. Unfortunately, as documented in our Governor 2024 Report Card, Hochul has repeatedly sided with fossil fuel interests and corporate utilities who oppose climate action. With Trump in the White House and the climate crisis worsening, state action on climate is more important than ever.  

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New York’s Climate Act (the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act or “CLCPA”) sets New York on a path toward ending our dependence on climate destroying fossil fuels and making the necessary transition to renewable energy. Demanding that the Climate Act goals be met or exceeded will be the top priority of Climate Can’t Wait in 2025.

 

Governor Hochul must put together a comprehensive package of climate justice proposals including billions of dollars to implement the CLCPA. And she must demand that her state agencies fully implement the requirements of the law through steps like agency directives and executive orders.

 

We demand:

 

• state mandates that meet or exceed the Climate Act’s greenhouse gas emissions targets, with annual benchmarks and strong penalties so the targets are legally enforceable; 

 

• adequate public funding for the transition to renewables including new revenue measures along with annual expenditure reports;

 

• an end to new fossil fuel infrastructure, plans to shut down existing facilities, and no subsidies to the fossil fuel industry; 

 

• action by state all state agencies to fully implement the Climate Act;

 

• a timeline to decarbonize government buildings including schools, and to build out public renewables;

 

• help for low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color to transition to renewable energy and address the harms to their communities caused by fossil fuel facilities; 

 

• a just transition to renewables, including the creation of quality union jobs, prevailing wage requirements, and apprenticeship programs; and

 

• no false solutions like carbon capture, renewable natural gas or biofuels.

 

Legislation and Policy Proposals

 

NOTE: * indicates 2024 bill numbers. Bills will be updated with 2025 numbers when they are reintroduced.

 

NY Heat Act (A4592 Fahy / S2016 Krueger)*

Mandates that the Public Service Commission (PSC) make its regulation of electric and gas service in our homes and businesses consistent with the CLCPA, including through modifying the present mandate to provide gas service to all customers upon request, known as the “obligation to serve,” and mandating regular greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for each gas utility. Promotes affordability by limiting low and moderate income residential customers’ bills to 6% of their household income. More info here. -- Lead group Renewable Heat Now

 

Cap Trade and Invest 

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) are now developing regulations to cap harmful greenhouse gas emissions and invest in programs to combat climate change while investing in disadvantaged communities. We call for the regulations to include comprehensive reporting, year-by-year greenhouse gas reductions, strong enforcement measures and prohibit allowance trading. Our program is also laid out in a bill sponsored by Assemblymember Kelles and Senator Parker (A8469 / S9228).*

 

GAP Fund (A2101 Kelles / -- Gonzalez)

Establishes a green affordable pre-electrification (GAP) program to fund and provide technical assistance for homes and buildings in need of a wide-range of currently unfunded retrofits that are necessary for healthy buildings and achievement of New York’s climate mandates.

 

Fund Climate Campaign

Requires that funds allocated for the CLCPA implementation, including from the state’s cap-and-invest program be deposited in the Climate Action Fund and meet strong spending criteria, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and co-pollutants, and meeting the CLCPA’s jobs and economic development standards. Funds building decarbonization of low and moderate income households, and awards grants to organizations serving disadvantaged communities for pollution reduction projects. 

 

Bucks for Boilers (A9990 Stirpe / S9099-Rivera)*

Starting in 2030 for smaller buildings and 2035 for larger ones, provides necessary subsidies to households to repair and weatherize their homes and upgrade to higher efficiency and clean heat pumps, phasing out old gas-fueled boilers when the system needs replacement. Authorizes $50,000 per household, and offers upfront full-coverage subsidies to low and moderate-income households.

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Invest in Our New York (IONY) 

A package of bills focused on tax fairness and raising revenue through taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and large corporations. Revenue would go to the general fund for priorities including housing, climate and education. This package is particularly important now that we expect to lose federal aid.

 

Renewable Capitol Act (A5633 Fahy / S2689 Breslin)*

Requires the Office of General Services (OGS) and the New York Power Authority (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.

 

Stop Climate Polluter Handout Act (A7949 Simon / S3389 Krueger)*

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.

 

Packaging Reduction Act (A1749 Glick / S1464 Harckham)

Requires companies to reduce their product packaging by 50% in 12 years, including petroleum-based plastics, and bans seventeen priority toxic chemicals in packaging materials.

 

Stop the Expansion of the Iroquois and Project Maple Pipelines

We oppose permit applications to expand fracked gas capacity in old pipelines. Expanding these pipelines is dangerous and contrary to CLCPA requirements that New York transition to renewable energy generation and cut greenhouse gas emissions. 

 

Build Public Renewables Act Implementation

The Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA), signed by the Governor in 2023, empowers and directs the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to build renewables including wind, solar power that are needed to reach 100% of the renewable generation mandates of the CLCPA. NYPA must put together a plan to fill the gap left by the private market to meet these mandates and start by building 15 gigawatts of public renewables in 2025.

 

Intervention in Utility Rate Cases (A8611 Solages / S8372 Parker)* 

Permits non-profits representing consumers to receive reimbursement for participation in formal proceedings before the Public Service Commission (PSC). Permits consumers and environmentalists to retain lawyers and experts, allowing them to have a more meaningful say in technical PSC proceedings that vitally affect state climate policies and our utility bills (vetoed by the Governor in 2024.)

 

Strong State Energy Plan

The State Energy Plan due this summer outlines policies to achieve New York’s energy and climate objectives, including transmission issues, workforce, affordability, and climate justice. We demand that the plan incorporate strong climate and clean energy policies to implement the CLCPA and its Climate Action Plan, and the inclusion of the new national goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 60 to 66% by 2035. 

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Oppose the “Clean” Fuel Standard Bill (A472 Woerner / S1343 Parker)

Establishes a so-called “clean fuel standard” to reduce the carbon intensity in the on-road transportation sector by 20% by 2031. This bill would encourage the continued use of fossil fuels in the transportation sector and ignores the requirements of the CLCPA.

 

Oppose the bill to Weaken Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accounting (A6039 Barrett / S6030 Parker)*

Changes the method of the state’s greenhouse gas emission accounting system to allow for increased methane emissions and exempts emissions from biofuel (a false solution) from the greenhouse gas emissions limits under New York’s climate law.