As Governor Hochul Proposes Climate Law Rollbacks, New Yorkers’ Health, Energy Bills, and Future Threatened
“Don’t Pull a Trump and Destroy NY’s Climate Law,” say advocates to Gov
For Immediate Release: February 27, 2026
Contact: Marie Scarles, marie@nyrenews.org, (646) 389-8429
Web: www.nyrenews.org | Instagram | Twitter | Bluesky | Facebook
In response to the NYSERDA memo that claims that cap and invest would raise costs for New York households, NY Renews Executive Director Stephan Edel issued the following statement on behalf of the coalition:
As the federal government slashes environmental protections and guts federal funding for climate and clean energy programs, New York State should be doubling down on our commitment to secure 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040, get New York completely off of fossil fuels by 2050, and ensure that 40% of state climate and energy funding be invested in disadvantaged communities per our nation-leading climate law.
Instead, Governor Hochul is gaslighting the public. She’s equipping her agencies to gut the climate law — backed by bad data that ignores years of the state’s own modeling and research — and echoing the Trump administration’s alarmist rhetoric by saying that rollbacks to the climate law are justified because she “cannot let the state go dark.” We all know Trump wants to double down on fossil fuels to funnel billions to his oil oligarch allies, but now Hochul is following suit. Our energy bills will only rise — and our health and lives will be ever more threatened — because of these actions.
The memo from NYSERDA to the Director of State Operations is based entirely on contrived economic estimates. It contradicts years of previous analysis produced by NYSERDA and fails to account for policies like rebates or energy bill credits that could be implemented to deliver real benefits to -New Yorkers to address affordability. Modeling from our coalition leaders at NYC-EJA shows that cap and invest can deliver real benefits and make corporate polluters pay for energy rebates that would put money directly back into New Yorkers’ wallets and lower bills for many households making under $200K a year.
Our “Cap Pollution, Invest in Workers” Report also shows that New York’s stalled cap-and-invest program would create nearly 30,000 jobs each year across regions of the state and economic sectors, helping to rapidly transition the state to clean energy and strengthening the union workforce.
Governor Hochul: Don’t pull a Trump and destroy New York’s climate law. Rolling back our Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act mandates would undermine energy affordability, public health, and environmental justice.
NY Renews calls on the Legislature to:
Reject any amendments that weaken CLCPA mandates, including emissions reduction targets, methane accounting standards, or disadvantaged community investment requirements
Invest at least $3 billion in the Sustainable Future Program
Increase transparency and public accountability for climate spending
Prioritize renewable energy buildout over costly nuclear expansion or wasting money on natural gas infrastructure.
New York families deserve lower energy bills, cleaner air, and a safe climate. The path forward is clear: implement the law, fund the energy transition, and put communities first.
Coalition and Ally Quotes
“New Yorkers cannot afford delays, distractions, or rollbacks,” said Stephan Edel, Executive Director of NY Renews. “The Climate Law is working except for the Governor’s inaction and undermining of existing standards. If the Governor implemented and funded the law as intended, it would be driving affordability, protecting public health, and ensuring climate justice. Instead, Governor Hochul is dragging her feet, circulating bad data, and wasting billions while approving rate hikes. NY must not budge an inch on legally binding mandates and must invest at the scale this moment demands.”
“The Governor’s continuing threats to weaken the Climate Law without even trying to issue regulations that can get us to an affordable energy and clean energy future should trouble all New Yorkers,” said Caroline Chen, Director of Environmental Justice at the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. “The Climate Law gives the State flexibility on how to design regulations, and multiple studies have shown that the required regulations can be designed in a way that is affordable and benefits all New Yorkers. We call on the State to stop fear-mongering with worst case scenarios, and finally show good faith efforts to move us forward instead of continuing to appease forces that place profit over communities.”
“Weakening the Climate Law would be an explicit choice to protect corporate utility profits instead of New York families. Affordability means investing in renewables, not rolling back mandates. Governor Hochul joins Trump in attacking common-sense, proven policies for the benefit of fossil fuel and Big Tech donors. She is betraying New York families,” said Laurel Tumarkin of Climate Families NYC.
“New York should return to policies that make sense economically and are feasible in both the short term and the long term, emphasizing affordability while acting within the scientific consensus on climate,” said Eric Wood, Senior Environmental Program Coordinator with NYPIRG. “Implementing the Climate Law accordingly will save money—and save lives.”
“Don’t side with Trump, Hochul. New York’s Climate Law provides a pathway to a healthy, safe, and affordable future. Trump is obliterating climate protections at the federal level, and we can’t have that happen here. New Yorkers want clean air, stable jobs, and affordable energy. The Legislature must hold the line and defend the Climate Law in full,” said Theodore Moore, Executive Director, ALIGN.
"The Renewable Heat Campaign stands with New York Renews in our commitment to upholding all aspects of New York's Climate Law. It's high time that we face the energy affordability and climate crises with real clean energy solutions. We call on the legislature to stand strong against any attempt to undermine the climate law as part of the budget negotiations and to fully fund climate and energy affordability solutions in the budget," said Lisa Marshall, Director of Organizing and Advocacy, New Yorkers for Clean Power.
"In a time when this federal regime's EPA dismantled decades of science-backed work regarding greenhouse gas emissions, gutted the funding for communities on the frontline, and closed down EPA EJ offices, Hochul must step up, said Monique Fitzgerald, Climate Justice & Campaign's Director for the Long Island Progressive Coalition. “She has the tools to fund our climate law, instead she is choosing to defund climate. That is not right, and we will not stand for it. The climate movement in New York is standing with the people — Hochul, how about you?"
“When we passed the Climate Law in 2019, we made New York a model for the nation. Our Climate Law was hard-fought and is legally binding. We cannot allow the Governor’s quiet budget amendments to undermine years of progress," said Andra Leimanis, Program Director at Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE). “Communities across this state depend on the law's protections. We must prioritize families that are struggling to pay their energy bills; build out cheaper, cleaner renewables; and fund energy efficiency measures and programs to lower our bills. We must implement and fund the Climate Law to keep us on track and ensure a livable future for the next generations."
"While our communities' well-being is on the line, our Governor continues to ignore the facts. Scientists, economists, and our own state agencies have sounded the alarm, warning that our reliance on fossil fuels caused energy bills to rise and will continue to do so," said Kartik Amarnath, Mid-Atlantic Regulatory Director at Vote Solar. "Weakening the Climate Law does not make life more affordable — it protects corporate greed. It brushes aside the thousands of New Yorkers harmed by our costly, polluting, and aging energy system. It is time our Governor recognizes that each day she spends entertaining a false reality makes daily life more dangerous and expensive for her constituents."
##
NY Renews is a coalition of nearly 400 environmental justice, labor, and community groups, and the force behind the nation’s most powerful climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. We fight for good jobs and climate justice for New Yorkers statewide.