New Yorkers and Environmental Leaders Highlight True Cost of Governor Hochul’s Climate Law Rollback Threats
PRESS RELEASE: April 14, 2026
Contact: Marie Scarles, marie@nyrenews.org, (646) 389-8429
Web: nyrenews.org | Instagram | Twitter | Bluesky | Facebook
Weakening or Delaying State Climate Law Will Cost New Yorkers $9,000 in Energy Bills
Delays would lead to 150,000 job losses and $60 billion in lost revenue
Recording available on Senator Harckham’s X and the NY Renews Facebook page
Albany, NY — As the state legislature passes another budget extender, New York legislators and climate and environmental justice advocates gathered at the Capitol in Albany today to remind Governor Hochul and state legislative leadership about the true cost of climate law delays.
After years of inaction on New York’s landmark climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), Governor Kathy Hochul is pushing to weaken and delay the law’s mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that heat the atmosphere and power New York with 100% clean energy. Climate Law delays will cost New Yorkers $9K in energy bills, 150,000 lost jobs, and up to $60 billion in lost revenue.
“Delaying or weakening our climate law doesn’t save New Yorkers money long-term — it costs them dearly,” said Stephan Edel, Executive Director of NY Renews. “Our analysis shows that postponing implementation would raise families’ energy bills by nearly $9,000 over just five years, largely due to the loss of billions in energy credits, rebates, and cost-saving programs.”
Recent geopolitical instability, including ongoing war-driven disruptions in supply, has driven up the cost of fossil fuels dramatically, as has the cost of burgeoning fossil fuel infrastructure, which is borne by ratepayers. The price of new gas turbines alone has surged and is projected to increase by 195% by the end of 2027, undercutting arguments that doubling down on fossil fuel investments is the cheaper path forward. Solar and wind energy are now far cheaper than fossil fuels.
Senator Harckham (SD-40) said, “Now is not the time to retreat from our climate goals that deliver real savings for New Yorkers and improve public health. We are seeing in real time the risks of relying on outdated fossil fuels that are highly vulnerable to geopolitical shocks. Abandoning the State’s climate law would be a serious mistake.”
Advocates say the narrative being advanced by the Governor and fossil fuel-aligned voices distorts the economic reality facing New Yorkers — potentially saddling households with higher energy costs.
"Environmental justice and equity are the foundation of New York’s climate law. At its heart, the law centers communities that have been historically overburdened by fossil fuel pollution,” said Eddie Bautista, Executive Director, New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. “Moving New York away from science, undermining public trust, and weakening climate efforts will disproportionately harm low-income communities and people of color. Now is the time to stand up for our communities and strengthen New York’s commitment to a just transition."
Public support for the climate law remains strong. Over the past four weeks alone, New Yorkers have spoken clearly — sending nearly 10,000 emails and calls, in addition to the thousands who have mobilized in-person — to demand that state leaders fully implement, not undermine, the CLCPA.
“To negotiate the future of our jobs and our health behind closed doors is an affront to New Yorkers and a smoke-and-mirrors giveaway to corporate polluters. We won’t be fooled,” said Theodore A. Moore, ALIGN Executive Director: “Our Climate Law was fought for and won by workers and communities on the front lines of our climate crisis as a matter of life and death — not a line item, not a bargaining chip. Clean energy costs us far less, and protecting the CLCPA is the only path to a healthy, safe, affordable future for all of us.”
“Our continued reliance of fossil fuels is driving up the cost of utilities. We must take the actions needed to better plan our energy system, improve the performance of the grid, and lower electricity costs for consumers. I stand with my colleagues on pushing for this vitally needed action," said Senator Rachel May (SD-48).
"Outdated infrastructure and decades of patchwork fixes are a big reason why utility bills are so high," says Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes. "But the real cost isn’t just what we pay each month—it's what we pay with our health and our future. The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act is designed to fix that by investing in cleaner, more efficient energy that lowers costs over time and reduces pollution in our communities. Delaying it doesn’t save money — it just pushes higher bills, more climate damage, and greater health risks onto working families. Every year we wait, costs go up and the burden grows. We can’t afford to fall behind. We need to stay the course and invest in a just transition that actually brings relief to our communities and protects the next generation."
“Working families are being crushed by a utility crisis that they didn’t create,” said Assemblymember Grace Lee. “As fossil fuel prices continue to rise from Trump’s war in Iran, it could not be more clear: renewable energy is affordable energy. The CLCPA is how we lower utility bills, reduce pollution, and move toward real energy independence. I’m proud to join advocates and my colleagues in the legislature to demand no rollbacks to the CLCPA.”
“Our clients brought a lawsuit to hold the state accountable to the Climate Law, and instead of complying with the law and the Court’s order that agreed with us, the Governor is holding the budget hostage to strongarm legislators into changing the law that she willfully violated,” said Caroline Chen, Director of Environmental Justice at the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. “If the Legislature gives in now, what happens the next time the Governor decides she doesn’t like another law? Our Climate Law can bring down energy costs and ensure our kids breathe unpolluted air. In the face of relentless federal attacks and the Governor’s transparent antics, we need our legislators to hold strong to give New Yorkers the long-term energy affordability and clean climate future we deserve.”
State Senator Erik Bottcher said, "The CLCPA is essential to lowering costs and protecting families from the volatility of fossil fuel markets. Rising energy prices are driven by our dependence on oil and gas. The CLCPA moves us toward a more affordable, reliable system by investing in renewables, efficiency, and modern infrastructure, and rolling it back would only deepen our reliance on the same unstable system that continues to fail New Yorkers. We must stay the course and accelerate the transition to a cleaner, more stable energy future."
“New York’s fossil fuel stranglehold is driving the affordability and climate crises that working people are facing today. We deserve the solutions that the CLCPA delivers to lower utility bills and curb climate-warming pollution poisoning our communities, but Governor Hochul is ceding ground to Trump’s attacks on our climate goals through behind-closed-doors negotiations and attempting to weaken meaningful climate policy,” said Ethan Gormley, Legislative Coordinator, Citizen Action of New York. “Enacting the CLCPA would save dollars and lives. We call on our elected leaders to defend — and advance — the law.”
“Our members across the Hudson Valley are wincing every time they have to fill up their tanks because of Trump’s illegal war in Iran. Now, instead of accelerating our independence from volatile price spikes caused by fossil fuels, the Governor is trying to delay action to lower bills and climate emissions by strong-arming the legislature behind closed doors, said Xaver Kandler, Political Director at For the Many. “New Yorkers need a leader who fights against Trump instead of someone selling out to the same oil and gas companies.”
"New Yorkers who see orange skies and breathe air filled with soot from forest fires in Canada or who have watched unprecedented floodwaters swirling through subways can grasp some of the obvious costs of not Implementing the Climate Law,” said Dr. Kathleen Nolan, President of New York’s Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, “while thousands of children, seniors, and families in New York can benefit each year from investments in our clean energy transition that reduce their risk of conditions like heat stroke, diseases borne by invasive species, and worsening asthma, chronic lung disease, and heart disease. It cannot be affordable to continue forward with an energy policy that leaves all of us exposed to contaminants from the combustion of oil and gas, when cheaper, cleaner, and more sustainable approaches are right at hand.”
“Failing to move ahead with implementation of the CLCPA would come at an extraordinary cost to every New Yorker, in the form of higher energy bills and a climate crisis that will only get worse,” said Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director at Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE). “We have a choice—march ahead with clean, affordable, renewable energy, like wind and solar, or continue our dependence on dirty, expensive, and unpredictable fossil fuels, which are currently causing New Yorkers’ energy bills to skyrocket. “As New York has begun its successful transition to renewable energy, the evidence is clear that it is the right choice for abundant, reliable, emission-free energy, which creates good jobs and isn’t subject to price volatility due to global conflicts. Kicking the can down the road on the climate crisis is a recipe for disaster for our environment, health, and economy.”
“New York’s climate law is based on science: its ‘net zero’ greenhouse gas emission goal is consistent with the standard set by the world’s climate scientists. But to meet the law’s ambitious goals, the state needed to take action,” said Blair Horner, NYPIRG’s Senior Policy Advisor. “Unfortunately, reports from inside government and outside documented the anemic administrative performance in meeting the mandates of the climate law. Those are goals that could easily have been met. For example, the European Union has announced it expects to meet its 2030 targets of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% compared to 1990 levels and achieving at least 42.5% renewable energy. We urge lawmakers to kick the governor’s ‘plan’ out of the budget and have a full public post-budget airing of the issues that she seeks to address.”