Throughout June, Hundreds of New Yorkers Called for Energy Affordability and Clean Air via Cap & Invest
Gov. Hochul can make polluters pay and invest in communities, generating billions per year to lower energy costs and reduce pollution
NEW YORK — Throughout June, over 200 advocates and community members gathered with legislators at New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation’s various statewide offices to testify and urge Governor Hochul to release the regulations for the state’s cap-and-invest program. Those who testified called for a bold program to reduce climate pollution and provide energy affordability through lower energy bills and upgraded homes while creating tens of thousands of good-paying jobs.
See here for photos from the hearings & video coverage on TikTok and Instagram
The three in-person and two virtual hearings led to a culmination of over 125 testimonies from New Yorkers and over 300 comments (and counting) over two weeks, with more flowing in through the end of the month when the public comment period ends on July 1.
As residents shoulder the burden of ever-increasing energy bills, New Yorkers are asking Governor Hochul to release the regulations that would make polluters pay for their toxic emissions while raising billions of dollars for communities. Currently, 1.2 million New Yorkers are two or more months behind on payments for their electricity bills. At the same time, since the start of 2022, every major gas utility in New York has raised the cost of energy for its customers, with many experiencing an average increase of $312 a year between 2023 and 2025. To counter ever-climbing energy expenses, cap and invest would raise between 6 and 12 billion dollars every year to fund energy efficiency upgrades and building modernization, transitioning New York homes and businesses away from fossil fuels to clean heating and cooling technologies at no-to-low cost.
“With the Trump administration slashing environmental protections, raising energy costs, and decimating human rights to make the country’s billionaires even richer, New York’s leaders must be bold and protect our people and planet,” said NY Renews Executive Director Stephan Edel. “Governor Hochul can put New York on the path to justice by launching Cap and Invest. It’s time to hold polluting corporations accountable for their toxic emissions so we can raise money from polluters to lower energy costs, protect our air, create tens of thousands of good jobs, and build robust clean energy projects here in Queens and throughout New York State.”
"Requiring corporate polluters to report on how much they’re polluting is one step to keeping these polluters accountable, but it’s not enough when federal funds are shriveling up and New Yorkers are getting sick, dying, and struggling to pay higher bills and costs from pollution, floods, storms, and heat waves as we speak,” said Eunice Ko, Deputy Director of NYC Environmental Justice Alliance. The Governor has a tool that she’s been withholding that would force polluters to pay, reduce their pollution, and raise billions of dollars every year that would go to New Yorkers’ wallets, our communities, and climate action. Governor Hochul must release all the cap-and-invest regulations if she is serious about preparing and protecting New York from the federal administration and climate collapse."
“With ever-increasing utility bills, more extreme weather events, and a federal administration determined to kill climate progress in the name of the oil and gas billionaires, New York State must be a climate leader. Unfortunately, instead, Gov. Hochul is standing in the way of climate progress. Gov. Hochul must immediately release the Cap and Invest regulations to move the program forward, showing she is willing to hold corporate polluters accountable, protect ratepayers from greedy utilities, and invest in our communities,” said Ethan Gormley, Climate Justice Organizer for Citizen Action of New York.
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NY Renews is a coalition of nearly 400 climate, labor, youth, and community groups, and the force behind the nation’s most progressive climate law. We fight for clean energy, good jobs, and a healthier, more affordable New York. Learn more about our Fund Climate Campaign.