NY Renews Coalition Responds to State Energy Plan Proposal
For Immediate Release: July 23, 2025
Contact: Devyn Fusaro, devyn@nyrenews.org, (909) 610-9814
Web: www.nyrenews.org | Instagram | Twitter | Bluesky | Facebook
New York — NY Renews, the largest coalition focused on climate justice in New York State and the leading force behind the State’s climate law, which was signed six years ago, objects to the Governor’s recent statements that New York must “slow down” the law’s implementation.
NY Renews Executive Director Stephan Edel issued the following statement on the State Energy Plan proposal:
“The State Energy Plan continues a dangerous trend of the Governor compromising energy affordability, health, and safety by slowing down the progress on our climate law. By investing in expensive, dangerous, and slow-to-deploy fossil gas and nuclear energy over safe, clean, and affordable energy sources like wind and solar, this plan condemns New Yorkers to higher energy bills, polluted air in our neighborhoods and homes, and ever more extreme floods and storms.
We’re calling on Governor Hochul to put the people of New York over the profits of major polluters and utility company CEOs. We deserve clean and affordable energy, good union jobs, and a livable state, which is why we’re committed to the full, rapid implementation of the Climate Act and the launch of New York’s pollution cap program, which state agencies confirm will lower our energy bills, while addressing the climate crisis.
Our communities cannot wait any longer for relief from rate hikes, pollution, and extreme climate disasters. Release the regulations for New York Cap and Invest today.”
NY Renews Steering Committee Member, Michael Richardson of Third Act Upstate New York issued the following statement on the State Energy Plan proposal:
“The updated State Energy Plan will now be in the news cycle feeding defeatist proclamations of failed renewable energy and zero-emission mandates along with calls for expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure “so the state’s aging natural gas fleet can remain operable to help meet rising electricity needs”. There is no acknowledgment that another goal is going unfulfilled: that is, limiting global warming to 1.5C. Nor is there data on the catastrophic consequences from the continued production of fossil fuel emissions. In the past four years Governor Hochul has taken New York down a path of incrementalism and inaction and now presents this defeatist energy plan to justify abandonment of the 2019 NYS Climate Law (CLCPA) mandates and its 2022 Scoping Plan. What New York needs now, more than ever, is leadership with a determined approach characterized by commitment and resilience in transitioning the NYS economy from fossil fuels to renewable energy generation and storage. We cannot allow Hochul to use the updated State Energy Plan to erase the 2022 Scoping Plan.”
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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.