NY Renews Coalition Comments on Governor Signing Ambitious Climate Bill into Law

NY Renews, a coalition of over 180 environmental, justice, faith, labor, and community groups released the following statement on the Climate Leadership and  Community Protection Act:

“Today, the Governor signed the nation’s most ambitious climate bill into law. This would not have been possible without years of work from community, environmental, labor, and justice organizations throughout the state.

For four years, NY Renews has done the meaningful work of uniting New Yorkers under the banner of climate, jobs, and justice. Our coalition put forth nation-leading policy to address the climate crisis while investing in the communities most impacted by the effects of climate change.

The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act makes New York the nation’s leader in legally-mandated emissions cuts. For the future of humanity and our planet, we need to move off fossil fuels towards a renewable economy, and we hope we can inspire other states to follow our lead on bold climate action.

In addition, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act includes a climate and equity screen, to make sure climate policies do not disproportionately burden environmental justice communities. It also includes a commitment to allocate 35% of the benefits of state climate funding to communities on the frontlines of the crisis. Given the Governor’s dismissal of environmental justice priorities throughout the legislative session, it is clear that these provisions were included in the final bill due to overwhelming public pressure from New Yorkers across the state.


The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act is a nation-leading law, but we can and must do more to decarbonize our economy, make sure green jobs are good jobs, and invest in communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis. The fight for true climate justice demands transformative change, and we will bring that fight until we build a just, renewable economy that works for all.

We call on the Governor and legislature to join us in this effort, through  strengthening the bill, signing S2385 / A1564 creating an environmental justice task force as required by the CLCPA, and fully funding its mandates next year and in years to come.

We thank those who have joined us in this fight so far: Senator Todd Kaminsky and Assemblyman Steve Englebright, who sponsored the bill, climate champions in both the Senate and the Assembly, and most of all, the thousands of New Yorkers who marched, wrote letters, scheduled meetings, led rallies, and put their bodies on the line to make this day a reality.

We cannot solve the climate crisis without strong legislation focused on economic and racial justice. NY Renews is not going home. The fight for climate justice for all New Yorkers continues.”