Quick Reads on ENERGY and CLIMATE

Going 100% Green Will Pay For Itself in Seven Years, Study Finds

A Stanford University professor whose research helped underpin the U.S. Democrats’ Green New Deal says phasing out fossil fuels and running the entire world on clean energy would pay for itself in under seven years.

It would cost $73 trillion to revamp power grids, transportation, manufacturing and other systems to run on wind, solar and hydro power, including enough storage capacity to keep the lights on overnight, Mark Jacobson said in a study published Friday in the journal One Earth. But that would be offset by annual savings of almost $11 trillion, the report found.

“There’s really no downside to making this transition,” said Jacobson, who wrote the study with several other researchers. “Most people are afraid it will be too expensive. Hopefully this will allay some of those fears.”

Read more at Bloomberg

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If the World ran on Sun, It wouldn’t Fight over Oil  
by Bill McKibben

No one will ever fight a war over access to sunshine – what would a country do, set up enormous walls to shade everyone else’s panels? (Giant walls are hard to build – just ask Trump.) Fossil fuels are concentrated in a few places, giving those who live atop them enormous power; renewable energy can be found everywhere, the birthright of all humans. A world that runs on sun and wind is a world that can relax.

Read more at The Guardian

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Warren Buffett is spending billions to make Iowa 'the Saudi Arabia of wind'

Warren Buffett is spending billions to turn Iowa into "the wind capital of the world, the Saudi Arabia of wind," he told the Financial Times.

Berkshire Hathaway's billionaire boss isn't emulating Greta Thunberg, however. Rather than leading the charge on climate change, hoping to cut carbon emissions at any cost, he told the newspaper he was simply taking advantage of government incentives for renewable-energy investments.

"We wouldn't do [it] without the production tax credit we get," he said.

Read more at Business Insider

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ExxonMobil Eyes $3.4-$3.6B Gain From Norway Asset Divestment

Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM expects a gain of $3.4-$3.6 billion from the divestment of Norwegian assets. This will likely give a boost to its fourth-quarter 2019 results. The company’s recent regulatory filing showed that the gains from this divestment can offset lower margins from chemicals and refining businesses.

Read more here

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New York Confirms Plan for 1GW-Plus Offshore Wind Solicitation in 2020

The Empire State’s second offshore wind procurement targets 1 gigawatt of capacity — “and perhaps substantially more.”

New York confirmed plans to issue its second solicitation for offshore wind farms this year, expected to add at least 1 gigawatt to the state’s pipeline.

The upcoming solicitation, to be overseen once again by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), will run alongside a separate competitive process to award $200 million in public funding for offshore wind-related port infrastructure improvements, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo, who gave his 10th State of the State address on January 9, 2020.

The offshore wind solicitation "is expected to yield at least an additional 1,000 megawatts of clean power, and perhaps substantially more," according to a detailed document (PDF) laying out the various plans in Cuomo's 2020 State of the State.

The new capacity will come on top of the 1.7 gigawatts of capacity the state awarded in its first offshore wind solicitation last summer to developers Ørsted and Equinor.

Read more at Greentech Media

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Climate Crisis: Senator Sanders releases a Green New Deal plan along with ways to pay for it

Bernie Sanders unveils $16 Trillion Green New Deal To Combat Climate Crisis

The 2020 Democratic candidate’s climate plan offers a detailed vision that would expand public ownership of utilities and make electricity “virtually free” by 2035.

By Alexander C. Kaufman | Aug 22, 2019 | HUFFPOST

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders released a sweeping $16.3 trillion climate plan on Thursday, vowing to create 20 million jobs and completely zero out planet-heating emissions by 2050.

The proposal outlines easily the most ambitious vision for a Green New Deal to date, with calls to massively expand public ownership of everything from power generation to groceries. With Washington Gov. Jay Inslee ending his climate-centered bid for the Democratic nomination a day earlier, the plan vaults the Vermont senator ahead of his 2020 rivals on what’s emerging as the defining policy issue of the Democratic primary.

At a moment when record wildfires are raging from the Amazon to the Arctic and Greenland is losing up to 12.5 billion tons of ice in a single day, the plan is dense with detail and frank in its goals. Where other proposals, including those from Inslee and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) depict expanded regulatory regimes and public spending aimed at spurring private investment, Sanders charts out a path to a hospitable global climate through Nordic-style social democracy.

“The scope of the challenge ahead of us shares some similarities with the crisis faced by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1940s,” the plan states. “Faced with battling a world war on two fronts ― both in the East and the West ― the United States came together, and within three short years restructured the entire economy in order to win the war and defeat fascism. As president, Bernie Sanders will boldly embrace the moral imperative of addressing the climate crisis.”

The campaign declined a request to interview Sanders on Wednesday evening.
  
 The plan opens with Sanders vowing to slash U.S. emissions 71% below 2017 levels by 2030 with 100% renewable electricity and zero-emissions vehicles. He declares war on the fossil fuel industry with kproposed bans on fracking, drilling on public lands and all imports and exports of oil and gas, and threatens companies with civil and criminal charges for pollution and obstructing climate action. He pledges $200 billion to help developing countries reduce their own climate pollution by 36% in the next decade.

Citing the nuclear disasters in Chernobyl and Fukushima, Sanders, long a critic of nuclear power, swears off new reactors and promises a moratorium on future licenses to existing plants. His plan rules out geoengineering the climate or deploying technologies to capture carbon dioxide from fossil fuel plants, which he derided as “false solutions.” It’s unclear whether he’d consider carbon capture technologies for difficult-to-decarbonize industries like cement making.

Generous pledges for workers animate Sanders’ proposal. The plan, which comes the same week the campaign released its proposal to boost unions, promises five years of unemployment insurance, a wage guarantee, housing assistance, job training, pension support and priority job placement for all workers displaced by the transition. It offers “early retirement support for those who choose it or can no longer work.” It proposes high wages and union protections across nearly every sector.

What stands out first is Sanders’ clear answer to the perennial question of how to pay for it.

There’s the money saved: $1.215 trillion from “scaling back military spending on protecting global oil” and $1.31 trillion from federal and state welfare “due to the creation of millions of good-paying, unionized jobs.”

Then there’s the money earned: $6.4 trillion from selling electricity produced by the Energy Department’s regional power marketing authorities, $3.085 trillion from “making the fossil fuel industry pay for their pollution, through litigation, fees, and taxes, and eliminating federal fossil fuel subsidies,” $2.3 trillion from income taxes on the 20 million new jobs the plan creates, and an additional $2 trillion from forcing “the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share.”

Those pushing a Green New Deal, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and the grassroots group Sunrise Movement, have shied away from talking numbers, even as Republicans fabricated a bogus $93 trillion price tag. Instead, advocates have pointed to the costs of sticking to a business-as-usual. The Sanders plan touches on that, too, highlighting that the costs of catastrophic warming could total $70.4 trillion over 80 years.

“This plan will pay for itself over 15 years,” the policy memo reads. “Experts have scored the plan and its economic effects.”

The 13,840-word document includes 85 dollar signs. Sanders sets aside $5.9 billion for regional economic development plans, with the lion’s share ― over $2.5 billion ― earmarked for Appalachia. There’s $15 billion for coal miners’ Black Lung Disability Fund. Another $25 billion goes to clearing the national park maintenance backlog. The restored Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program that planted 3 billion trees in the 1930s, gets $171 billion.

NY State Assembly Passes Climate Leadership And Community Protection Act

Legislation sets the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent by 2050, and having net zero emissions in all sectors of the economy

Speaker Carl Heastie and Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Steve Englebright today announced Assembly passage of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, a comprehensive bill that sets critical environmental standards, including reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the use of renewable energy in order to address and mitigate the effects of climate change (A.8429, Englebright).

"Climate change is already having adverse effects on communities here in New York, and if it continues unchecked, it will wreak havoc on our environment, our economy and on the everyday lives of New Yorkers," Speaker Heastie said. "As the administration in Washington rolls back environmental protections, the Assembly Majority will continue to lead the way in developing green energy alternatives and sustainable policies and practices."

"People across the state, from Buffalo to Long Island, have urged New York to act on climate change. I am proud that the Assembly Majority has led the way on this issue and has now passed the most comprehensive climate legislation in the nation. This bill sets New York on a course for a sustainable future by transitioning our state to clean renewable energy, unleashing the genius of American industry, and ensuring good paying jobs that work for all New Yorkers," said Assemblymember Englebright.

The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act would require that the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) establish:

•  Statewide greenhouse gas emissions limits by regulation, to reduce emissions 85 percent by 2050;
• Regulations to achieve statewide greenhouse gas emissions reductions; and
• A process ensuring that a minimum of 35 percent of investments from clean energy and energy efficiency funds are invested in disadvantaged communities.

The legislation would also establish a Climate Justice Working Group, consisting of representatives from environmental justice communities, DEC and the Departments of Health and Labor. The working group would identify disadvantaged communities for the purposes of reducing co-pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions and the allocation of certain investments.

NY Climate and Community Protection Act targets Renewable Energy, Jobs & Justice

Momentum grows for New York’s Landmark Climate-Equity Bill

By Greta Moran | Feb 16, 2019 | Grist

Walter Cooper, a labor union leader, stood on the steps of New York City Hall to fight for new kind of contract.

“We need a contract for a future of our state and for our communities,” Cooper said in support of the Climate and Community Protection Act, a bill making its way through the state legislature.

Cooper’s labor union is part of New York Renews, a broad coalition of 160 labor, climate, and community groups that has been pushing for climate justice since 2015. The Climate and Community Protection Act would move New York to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. The bill’s labor and justice measures have garnered it wide grassroots support. And increasingly, the attention of lawmakers.

On Thursday, as part of New York Senate’s first-ever hearing on climate change, testimonies were heard on behalf of the bill. The legislation would make its goals across energy, transportation, and buildings legally enforceable — a contract with the environment.

The hearing, chaired by Senator Todd Kaminsky, signaled the Democrats’ fresh resolve to address climate change.

It’s not the first time the CCPA has come close to becoming law: Last April, it passed in the Assembly for the third time. But the Senate’s leaders didn’t allow it to come to the floor for a vote. Now that Democrats control the Senate, the passage of the bill — or a similarly ambitious climate bill — is looking more likely.

“The CCPA is the main vehicle through which we will address climate change and these hearings will go a long way toward ensuring that all stakeholders will have input in the legislative process,” Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said in a statement.

Along with mandated energy goals, the CCPA would require that state agencies consider not only climate but also equity in their decisions. It would require fair labor standards for jobs created in renewable energy and would invest 40 percent of the state’s energy funds in communities likely to be hardest hit by climate change.

Climate & Energy: Cuomo's 'Green New Deal' is not comprehensive, NY Renews says

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Gov targets 100% clean energy by ’40; Some say it’s not enough

January 21, 2019  | The Villager

BY SYDNEY PEREIRA | Governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced his version of a “Green New Deal” to tackle climate change and ramp up clean energy.

Under his plan, 100 percent of the state’s electricity would be generated by clean power by 2040. This would be achieved by using a mix of energy sources like solar, wind, nuclear and hydropower.

A new Climate Action Council would develop a plan for carbon neutrality across the entire economy — meaning reducing the carbon footprint across industries and sources of greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change.

“We know it’s coming,” Cuomo said in his State of the State address on Jan. 15. “Let the economy be here.”

Cuomo’s “Green New Deal” also includes green technology development, a $1.5 billion investment in offshore wind projects, and a $70 million property-tax compensation fund to help communities transition when old power plants close.

“We want those old plants closed. We want more efficient plants,” Cuomo said. But the state should fund the transition, so “those communities don’t shoulder the burden themselves,” he said.

Cuomo’s announcement comes after years of planning by a coalition of community groups, NY Renews, that have pushed for their own version of a climate action plan. Their plan forms the basis of the current Climate and Community Protection Act, sponsored by state Senator Brad Hoylman and Assemblymember Steve Englebright.

That bill would have mandated the state’s electricity be generated by 50 percent renewable energy by 2030, and that all industries eliminate 100 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The community-initiated bill passed three times in the Assembly but has languished in the Senate.

NY Renews welcomed Cuomo’s announcement, but criticized his failure to set a timeline for a transition to clean power economywide.

“For years, the Climate and Community Protection Act has represented a true climate-justice agenda for our state,” NY Renews said in a statement in response to Cuomo’s address. “It is heartening to see progress toward a fossil-fuel-free New York.”

However, the coalition added, a “truly comprehensive plan to tackle climate change needs more specific deadlines, planning processes and accountability for moving our whole economy off of fossil fuels than are currently included.”

WNY CLIMATE CONVERSATIONS - Saturday, Feb. 9, 1-4PM

Register for the event on Facebook and Invite Friends: Click here

Registration:  

https://wnymasterteachers.wufoo.com/forms/wnyclimateconversations/

Climate Bill addresses Justice for Communities and Workers

Climate protection bill would hit renewable goal

In a recent Another Voice column (“Energy policies can be pro-business, pro-environment”), the authors gets things half right.

The Climate and Community Protection Act (CCPA), the focus of their article, is also pro-community and pro-working families! If enacted, the CCPA would commit New York State to a just transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050.

This transition would impact the entire economy, from energy generation to transportation to how we heat and cool our buildings. It would require that state agencies apply climate and equity filters to all decision making. This would ensure that no New Yorkers get left behind during the transition and that state government is accountable to climate goals.

The CCPA was perhaps the first climate bill in the country to take justice for communities and workers seriously. It acknowledges the disparate impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities and would support implementation of community-based climate solutions. The bill would redirect 40 percent of existing state climate and clean energy funding to vulnerable communities to enhance climate resiliency and reduce energy poverty by opening up access to renewables and energy efficiency.

The CCPA would also set job standards for industries called into action by public sector investments so that workers and their families can thrive as our economy transitions.

Global consensus has been reached that we’re now living through an intensifying climate crisis. The CCPA is a commonsense response to this crisis and represents a transformative strategy for achieving a just transition for all New Yorkers.

Clarke Gocker

Buffalo

Published on 12.18.2018 at BuffaloNews.com

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To read the text of the Climate and Community Protection Act and see the bill's co-sponsorship in the NYS Senate, click here

Sustainability and Justice: The Need for Water Protectors

Distinguished Lecture by

WINONA LADUKE 

~ Water Protector ~

Winona LaDuke - Water Protector

November 16, 2:30pm - 4:45pm,
Center for the Arts Screening Room, UB North Campus [Map].

Refreshments, lecture and discussion,
RSVP Here by Nov. 15.


During the Standing Rock actions against the Dakota Access Oil Pipeline, a new term was born - ‘Water Protector’.  This became the preferred way to talk about the residents of the Standing Rock resistance camps; rather than protestor. 

Water Protectors are not radicals that want us to return the middle ages, but futurists that want a clean, healthy environment for their children and the next seven generations.  In these times of climate chaos and political inaction, we must all be Water Protectors.

Winona LaDuke is a rural development economist and author working on issues of Indigenous Economics, Food and Energy Policy. A graduate of Harvard and Antioch Universities, she has written extensively on Native American and environmental issues.

LaDuke lives and works on the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota, and is the Executive Director of Honor the Earth. She works nationally and internationally on the issues of climate change, renewable energy, environmental justice and sustainable food systems alongside Indigenous communities.

A presentation in the UB RENEW Distinguished Lecture Series

Lois Gibbs, Environmental Health & Justice Activist, to Speak in Lockport

                      Photo: James Neiss

Lois Gibbs, the former Niagara Falls resident who led the fight for evacuation of the Love Canal neighborhood plagued by toxic chemical pollution 40 years ago, will return for a speaking engagement and panel discussion.

Gibbs will speak on Saturday, November 3 at the Cornell Cooperative Extension, 4487 Lake Ave., Lockport [Map], for a discussion on local environmental issues. She will hold a meet-and-greet at 9 AM, a news conference at 9:30 and a panel discussion at 10 AM. The event is sponsored by the Niagara County Democratic Committee and is free and open to the public.
 
Lois Gibbs was critical in the creation of the Superfund, a federal government program designed to fund the cleanup of toxic wastes. Gibbs is the founder of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice and lives in Virginia.

The discussion panel will include:

• Lois Gibbs, Exec. Director of the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice

• Richard Lipsitz, WNY ALF President

• Russ Quarantello, IBEW 237 Business Manager

• Diane Lemanski, Babcock Neighborhood Organizer (Clean Air Coalition)

• Bev Kinney, Grand Island Town Councilwoman

• Representative for Citizens for Responsible Government  

EVENT: Rise for Climate, Jobs & Justice - Sept.8, 12:30 PM, CANALSIDE, Buffalo

On Saturday, Sept. 8, People will gather in Buffalo to rally along with others across the USA and around the World to demand that local leaders commit to building a fossil-free world that works for all of us.

Join Us at CANALSIDE in Buffalo 

on Saturday, Sept. 8 !

~ For More Information on the Buffalo Rally, go Here ~

Many U.S. cities will rally for Climate, Jobs & Justice on the same day

Rise for Climate, Jobs & Justice is a Global Event

For more information, and to view locations of Rallys across the USA

as well as in other cities around the world, Click Here

 

ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM: Water, The Environment, and a Socially Just World

NY Climate Solutions Summit -- October 28th in Rochester

 

What: NY Climate Solutions Summit

When: Saturday, October 28th, 8am-5pm

Where: The Harley School 

1981 Clover Street, Rochester [Map]

Keynote Speakers:

• Aaron Mair, Former Sierra Club President  

• Sandra Steingraber, Acclaimed Author & Ecologist  

The NY Climate Solutions Summit invites both new and experienced clean energy and climate organizers from across the state to gather and learn about case studies, experiences, projects, resources, and skills that will help their communities implement climate change solutions.

Presenters will share case studies on solar, wind, renewable heating, energy efficiency, transportation, environmental justice, and land use, in addition to workshops on movement building and technical skills. More details on the full program can be found here.

REGISTER HERE

RSVP and Share This Event on Facebook

We look forward to seeing you there! 

Planning team members:
Rochester People’s Climate Coalition, ACE NY, New Yorkers for Clean Power, Mothers Out Front, NY GEO, and the Alliance for a Green Economy.

Buffalo Humanities Festival: ENVIRONMENTS

 

 Saturday, Sept. 30, 10:30 AM

Rockwell Hall, Buffalo State College

The full festival day begins with a performance by Deke Weaver of “BEAR and the Unreliable Bestiary” and continues with talks, panels, and community conversations focusing on issues of environmental justice and economic sustainability, activism and planning, and the global climate change crisis. 

Lunch by West Side Bazaar is included with tickets purchased by Sept. 25th. The closing reception features music by 12/8 Path Band and beer by Community Beer Works.


 Saturday Schedule

10:00 AM | Registration/Check-In Open

10:30 AM | Deke Weaver presents “BEAR and the Unreliable Bestiary”

11:30 AM | Session I

§  Panel Discussion: Listen! Youth Voices on Climate Justice | Members of Western New York Environmental Alliance’s Youth Climate Justice Campaign, Massachusetts Avenue Project, and Ujima Theatre

§  Reflecting on Earth’s Reflectance, or Adventures in Albedo Enhancement | Judith Goldman, Assistant Professor of English, University at Buffalo

§  Fostering Community Empowerment through Social Justice and Environmental Narratives | Erin E. Robinson, Professor of Sociology, Canisius College

§  Reimagining Education: Engaging Poverty in Higher Ed | Kevin D. Blair, Professor of Social Work and Chair of the Social Work Department, Niagara University and David B. Taylor, Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Niagara University

12:30 PM | Lunch by West Side Bazaar

1:15 PM | Session II

§  In Our Own Image | Eric Dolph, Professor of Interior Design, SUNY Buffalo State

§  Who Speaks for the Corals? Despair and Hope in the Anthropocene | Irus Braverman, Professor of Law and Adjunct Professor of Geography, University at Buffalo

§  Human Judgment and Environmental Impact | Jason Grinnell, Chair of the Philosophy Department and Associate Professor of Philosophy, SUNY Buffalo State and Amy McMillan, Interim Director of the Honors Program and Associate Professor of Biology, SUNY Buffalo State

§  Achieving a Regenerative Economy Through a Just Transition | Rahwa Ghirmatzion, Deputy Director of People United for Sustainable Housing, Inc. (PUSH Buffalo)

2:15 PM | Break

2:30 PM | Session III

§  Building The Future—What Makes An Effective Change Agent? | Ryan McPherson, Chief Sustainability Officer, University at Buffalo

§  My Walks with Olmsted | Adam Rome, Professor of History, University at Buffalo

§  Evolving Resistance and the Environmental Movement | Leslie James Pickering, former Spokesperson for the underground Earth Liberation Front and a Co-Owner of Burning Books and David Reilly, Director of International Studies and Chair of the Department of Political Science, Niagara University

§  Nature, Culture, Narrative | Barbara Porter, Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Canisius College

3:30 PM | Reception with music by 12/8 Path Band and beer from Community Beer Works

DOWNLOAD the Festival Program HERE

Community Mayoral Debate: Social Justice Advocates will pose Questions to Buffalo Mayoral Candidates

The event is non-partisan and will not endorse any candidate. The organizers encourage everyone's involvement and education in the process.

 

Indigenous peoples are one of the populations in the city that can be invisible and marginalized in the overall debate surrounding the city. This event will be to shift the conversation. 

There will also be groups addressing issues of racial justice, environmental justice, fair economics and other issues. 

NY Renews Coalition Reacts to NYS Senate Failure to Pass Climate Bill Prioritizing Jobs and Justice

On Thursday, the New York State Senate failed to pass the Climate and Community Protection Act.

In response, the NY Renews Coalition released the following statement: 
 
 On June 1st, Donald Trump made the disastrous decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. On June 21st, the last day of the legislative session, the leaders of the New York Senate failed again to pass a visionary climate bill--the Climate and Community Protection Act (CCPA)--at the precise moment when we need state leadership the most.

It is disturbing that, even in the wake of President Trump’s dangerous climate policy rollbacks, the New York State Senate failed to pass landmark climate legislation. This failure is as unconscionable as it is cynical. In ignoring legislation to protect New Yorkers from the worst impacts of a changing climate and seize the vast economic opportunity in clean, renewable energy, the Senate is telling frontline communities, clean energy workers, and all New Yorkers to wait at least another year for this life-saving, economy-boosting legislation--another year our state cannot afford to lose in tackling the growing climate and inequality crisis.

New York, the world’s 12th largest economy, can and should be showing that states’ actions can address the climate crisis even while the Trump administration does everything it can to eviscerate United State’s position as a climate leader.

The CCPA gives New York’s goal of reaching 100% clean, renewable energy by 2050 the force of law, creates fair labor standards for renewable energy jobs, and ensures that state energy funding is accessible to the low-income and environmental justice communities that need it most. The bill was developed and is championed by over 110 organizations statewide, representing many of New York’s most dedicated experts in labor, environmental, and social justice policy.

Support for the bill has united low-income communities of color in Buffalo with Hurricane Sandy survivors in Long Island, with clean energy investors in Manhattan. It united labor and environment, from the Teamsters and the Transit Workers, to Catskill Mountainkeeper and Sierra Club. It garnered support from climate champions like Bill McKibben, Mike Brune, and Naomi Klein; racial justice leaders like Ben Jealous, Rashad Robinson, and Black Lives Matter Greater NY; and progressive visionaries like Mark Ruffalo, Robert Reich, and Heather McGhee. And it has garnered bipartisan support in the state senate itself.

Despite this overwhelming, statewide, cross-sectoral support, the bill’s sponsors--the eight members of the Independent Democratic Conference-- and the senate leadership found any number of excuses not to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. This was their chance to prove they could pass a top-level progressive priority, and they did not live up to the challenge. They did not #CallTheRoll. Meanwhile, the Assembly led on the issue, passing the bill with strong bipartisan support by an even wider margin than last year.

It is time for Governor Cuomo, who did not include the CCPA in the budget, to step up and lead the way to passage for the nation’s strongest climate, jobs, and justice bill. We urge the Governor as well as the IDC and senate leadership to pass the CCPA in a special session this summer.

If the legislature is returning to Albany to protect the education of NYC school children, then surely the Governor and senate can also pass legislation critical to the protection of their very future--not to mention the millions of children outside NYC and around the world whose futures will be foreclosed by the climate crisis. The state’s leaders have left Albany with serious unfinished business, and they must redress this wrong.

In the meantime, NY Renews will continue to hold the Governor and the senate accountable, and stand up for New Yorkers who want good green jobs, healthy communities, and to protect their communities from the impacts of climate change.

NY Renews Coalition Reacts to Gov. Cuomo's New Climate, Jobs and Justice Initiatives in the Wake of Trump's Rejection of the Paris Climate Accord

Following President Trump’s decision to exit the Paris Accords, Governor Cuomo announced the creation of a climate and jobs initiative and the creation of an environmental justice and just transition working group.

NY Renews, a coalition of 109 labor, community, and environmental organizations, released the following statement in response:

"We applaud the Governor in the wake of Trump's shameful decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord for taking an important step toward realizing the massive job-creation potential of tackling the climate crisis head-on. NY Renews has been pushing our elected officials at the state level for over a year to implement strong climate legislation—the Climate and Community Protection Act—that prioritizes jobs and justice.

The Governor's announcement in partnership with Climate Jobs NY of a $1.5 billion request for proposals for renewable energy development is a great example of the kind of agency cooperation and investment that will be needed from the state now and in the coming decades to protect New York families from the worst impacts of climate change, while driving a resurgence of good union jobs in the new energy economy. And the commitment from the Governors of CA, WA, and NY to meeting the Paris Accords sends a strong signal to the world. Now New York must turn to the business of meeting and exceeding that commitment.  

To that end, we look forward to working with the Governor to pass visionary legislation that gives New York’s climate and clean energy goals the durable force of law and ensures fair labor standards are attached, so we can keep these ‘climate jobs’ coming for decades to come. Our legislation would also direct a minimum of 40% of state funding to environmental justice communities. The many NY Renews members who have been appointed to the Governor’s new Environmental Justice & Just Transition Working Group will continue to reaffirm that the best way to champion environmental justice is to give it the force of law and ensure that state resources are going to the fenceline and frontline communities that need them most.

As we defy Trump's historically bad decision, we stay grounded in the future we're fighting for: a future where we’ve averted climate catastrophe through the leadership of organized labor and working people. To lock in that future, New York will need to pass ambitious framework policies, like the Climate and Community Protection Act."

Governor Cuomo Announces Major Climate and Jobs Initiative including Environmental Justice & Just Transition Principles

June 2, 2017 | Albany, NY |

Governor Cuomo Announces 

Major Climate and Jobs Initiative.

Announcement Follows Governor's Executive Order Committing New York to Uphold the Standards Set Forth in the Paris Accord.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the Clean Climate Careers initiative following the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord. The initiative is a multi-pronged strategy to grow New York's emerging clean energy economy and prepare the workforce for the long-term careers associated with this industry.

In partnership with the ILR School's Worker Institute at Cornell University and Climate Jobs NY, this initiative focuses on accelerating energy efficiency and renewable energy growth to make New York a magnet for new energy technologies and creating 40,000 new, good-paying clean energy jobs by 2020.

Highlights of the Governor's initiative:

• Will Accelerate Renewable Energy Growth With up to $1.5 Billion Investment in Renewable Energy Projects

• Largest Clean Energy Procurement by a State in U.S. History Strengthens New York's Position as National Leader on Climate Change

• Establishes an Environmental Justice & Just Transition Working Group to Help Historically Underserved Communities Prepare for a Clean Energy Future and Adapt to Climate Change

• New York State Solar Capacity Set to Double by End of 2018

 "As the federal government abdicates its responsibility to address climate change -- at the expense of our environment and economy -- New York is leading the nation in advancing a clean energy future," Governor Cuomo said. "The Clean Climate Careers initiative is a groundbreaking investment, representing the largest state clean energy procurement in U.S. history. With this $1.8 billion initiative, New York continues to tackle the challenges of climate change and create the high-quality, good-paying careers of tomorrow." 

“Climate change affects everyone, but its consequences are particularly devastating for low-income residents, communities of color, immigrants, and other vulnerable communities,” said Eddie Bautista, Executive Director of the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance. “We look forward to advising the State on ensuring a ‘just transition’ to a post-fossil fuel economy as it invests in historically-disadvantaged communities and creates family-supporting jobs.” 

For additional information, visit governor.ny.gov

To view the Governor's Executive Order committing New York to uphold the Paris Accord standards, click here.

Over 200,000 Participated in the People's Climate March in Washington D.C.

 Images of the Massive Climate March in Washington D.C. on April 29, 2017

Tens of Thousands Marched in 370 Cities across the U.S.

By David Kowalski

Over 200,000 people marched in Washington calling on the president to curb global warming that's contributing to polar ice melting, sea-level rise, and extreme weather, including extended droughts and unprecedented floods.

In line with established climate science and the Paris Climate Accords, an informed public as well as smart business leaders around the world seek a managed and justice-based power shift from dirty fossil fuels, which are polluting and heating the planet, to clean renewable energy sources, like wind, water and the sun.

An emerging clean energy economy that maximizes energy efficiency and minimizes waste and pollution will create well-paying jobs in every state for displaced fossil fuel workers and for people of all skill levels and educational backgrounds.

Two photos below show portions of the Climate March in the 

streets of Washington near the Capitol and the White House.

[Click image to enlarge]

[Click image to enlarge]

Below are photos of a closer views of 
isolated parts of the crowd in the street.  

 [Click any image to enlarge]

The photo below was taken at the Chicago Climate March.

To see photos taken at Climate Marches in other cities across the U.S., 
visit HuffingtonPost

The photos shown here are from albums posted at
Peoples Climate Movement

 

Job Opportunity: Clean Air Coalition is Hiring!

 

WE'RE HIRING CANVASSERS!

Interested in working on the front lines of the struggle for environmental justice? Clean Air is looking for inspiring individuals ready to work for the movement for social change. 

Description:  

Develop grassroots support for and activate citizen participation in our issue based campaigns through intensive door knocking, and site based voter registration.

The canvasser will be the primary point of entry into Clean Air. The canvassers' responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Identifying and/ or reporting on issues residents are passionate or concerned about
• Registering new voters and/or updating voter files
• Coordinating site based voter registration activities
• Leading and supporting teams of volunteer canvassers
• Recruiting new members and building an active volunteer base for canvassing
• Keeping solid records on campaign activities
• Updating the Voter Activation Network

Qualifications:

Applicants would preferably have a strong interest in social/ environmental justice, strong communication skills, willingness to learn new skills and ideas, be self motivated, and have access to reliable transportation.  This is a part time, temporary position that pays $15/ hour. Applicants should submit a resume and 3 references by August 1st to Rebecca Newberry via email; rebecca@cacwny.org or by postal mail; Clean Air 52 Linwood Ave. Buffalo, NY 14209.

STATE CAPITOL RALLY: Stand Together for Climate, Jobs, and Justice

Join us to Rally for 
100% Clean Renewable Energy in NY State!

The Climate Justice Coalition of WNY and the Sierra Club Niagara Group need YOU in Albany to tell our lawmakers that we demand a Clean Energy Economy with Good Jobs, Healthy Communities, a Livable Climate and Justice for ALL!

The shift to renewable energy will cut global warming pollution, create new jobs and must include policies that ensure equity and justice for our communities and workers.

Fortunately, the NYS Assembly recently introduced a new bill, The Climate and Community Protection Act (A10342), that addresses all of the above concerns. But the bill will not become law without Strong Public Support. That's why we need YOU at the State Capitol!

Rally with us on June 1st to make your voice heard and let New York State legislators know that We Stand United for a clean energy economy and renewable energy future for all!

Get your BUS Tickets here: Buffalo Bus To Albany

Renewables Are Doable!

For more information visit New Yorkers for Clean Power