ALBANY, NY – As part of her Executive Budget released today, Governor Hochul did not include a promised cap-and-invest program or the NY HEAT Act, which would reduce greenhouse gas and air pollution emissions, limit potential costs for New Yorkers, and invest in programs that drive emission reductions and improve energy affordability, especially for disadvantaged communities. In 2024 alone, ten extreme weather events cost New Yorkers more than a billion dollars, and the Executive Budget fails to take this into consideration.
The following is reaction from Richard Schrader, Director, New York Government Affairs at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
“Climate change is our planet’s greatest existential threat. From raging wildfires to supercharged storms, its compounding effects can be felt today. Extreme weather events across New York State are costing New Yorkers billions of dollars. Cap-and-invest is the strongest tool we have to combat climate change and reach New York State’s legally mandated Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act goals. Governor Hocul has not included cap-and-invest it in her budget – which significantly delays the program – meaning that the promise of cleaner air for disadvantaged communities and more affordable, modern energy infrastructure, homes, and transportation will all take longer to deliver.
“The Governor’s failure to include language from the NY HEAT Act in this year’s budget, as she did last year, is also a major setback for affordability and the state’s clean energy goals. The NY HEAT Act would shift billions of dollars of investments paid for by gas customers from costly, outdated methane gas pipes to lower-cost, zero-emission buildings for community-scale electrification, which reduces families’ energy bills and ensures a more equitable, efficient transition to clean energy.”
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law, and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health, and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd). Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.
