How New York Can Still Achieve Its Climate, Jobs, and Equity Mandates
Executive Summary
New York has made significant progress towards the climate, labor, and equity commitments established in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), the state’s landmark emissions reduction law, but much more is needed to meet these goals and address the severe affordability crisis the state is facing. To meet the moment, New York will need to employ new approaches to the clean energy transition. This report, which comes on the heels of federal divestment in renewable energy, identifies 10 immediate interventions New York can take to 1) drive down emissions; 2) expand access to high-quality union jobs; 3) contribute economic, social, and health benefits; and 4) make the state more affordable.
Recommendations
Coming on the heels of federal divestment from renewable energy, this report identifies ten immediate interventions New York State can implement to curb the effects of both climate change and the affordability crisis. Unlike much of the existing research on climate policy, this report examines climate policy from the perspective of labor and environmental justice. Many of the interventions aim to create and protect New York State’s unionized clean energy workforce and disadvantaged communities.
At the core of the report’s recommendations is a need to reinvigorate and expand the commitments made by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The report recommends increasing the state’s renewable energy goals and developing a state-led clean energy action plan to meet these goals. This report emphasizes the importance of worker protections and training to create high-quality, unionized work on clean energy projects, as well as consumer protections to ensure benefits are directed to disadvantaged communities.
Interventions
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Update state renewable energy goals with strong labor standards
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Renew NYPA's public mission to meet New York's energy needs
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Reimagine utilities to address the affordability crisis and expedite the clean energy transition
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Address New York's housing affordability crisis
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Expand transportation options available to New Yorkers
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Implement cap-and-invest to fund climate action
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Pass a green public buildings bond
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Make energy more affordable for hardworking New Yorkers
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Protect New York's private sector workers
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Prepare the next generation of climate workers and make good climate jobs accessible to frontline communities