New York State needs Commitment to Renewable Energy

By Geovaira Hernandez

On Sept. 8, thousands of people worldwide united for a day of action around climate and economic justice. Rise Up for Climate, Jobs and Justice events, like the one we helped organize in Buffalo at Canalside – which drew several hundred residents – arrived ahead of the Global Action Climate Summit this week in San Francisco.

The summit brings together elected officials, labor unions, thought leaders and nongovernmental organizations to discuss the Paris climate goals, and how to accelerate efforts to reduce global emissions.

Not surprisingly, considering its intent to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris agreement and its assault on basic environmental protections, the Trump administration will not participate in the summit.

With hopes of federal action on climate now dashed, groups like PUSH Buffalo, the Communications Workers of America and the Sierra Club are working in coalition with others across regions and states to pressure elected officials to commit to a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels toward an economy powered by 100 percent renewable energy.

In Washington State this fall, residents will vote on Initiative 1631 which, if passed, would generate $1 billion of revenue annually through a corporate polluter fee. The revenue would be used to fund climate solutions that benefit the most environmentally overburdened communities.

Earlier this week, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill that sets California on a path to 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. This is a huge development, and the first law of its kind enacted by a state legislature in the U.S. Importantly, progress in each of these areas wouldn’t have happened without sustained grassroots leadership from so-called frontline communities.

California’s commitment to 100 percent renewable energy sets a compass point for the rest of us to follow. Now, we’re demanding that elected leaders in New York deliver on a progressive climate justice agenda that includes not only a commitment to 100 percent renewable energy but prioritizes clean energy investments in frontline communities and creates good paying, green jobs.

As members of the statewide New York Renews coalition, we’re calling specifically for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to pass the Climate and Community Protection Act (CCPA) in 2019 and to support a corporate polluter penalty and reinvestment policy like the one being advanced in Washington State. Together these moves would position New York as a true global climate leader accountable to a progressive populism that is now rising all around us.

Geovaira Hernandez, climate justice organizer at PUSH Buffalo, co-authored this with Lynda Schneekloth, of Sierra Club Niagara Chapter, and Debora M. Hayes, area director, Communications Workers of America.

This article was published as an op-ed in The Buffalo News

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SEE ALSO: 

- NY RENEWS: Cut Pollution, Fund Solutions for NY

- NYS Assembly Passes Climate Bill Promoting Renewable Energy, Green Jobs, and Community/Worker Protections

Statewide Coalition Demands Cuomo make Polluters Pay for a Clean Energy Transition

NY RENEWS delivers symbolic $7Billion check at the State Capitol - 2.27.2018

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Coalition Calls for Polluter Fee to Fund Transition to Renewable Energy

February 28, 2018

ALBANY, N.Y. — Climate activists delivered a symbolic $7-billion check to Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday, saying that's what New York stands to gain through a corporate polluter fee. The activists had just attended the Environmental Conservation Committee's budget hearing.

According to Dan Sherrell, the campaign coordinator for New York Renews, the governor's budget doesn't go far enough to address the growing effects of climate change but imposing a polluter fee on greenhouse-gas emissions could pave the way to 100-percent renewable energy by 2050.

"We could be raising $7 billion in revenue a year that could be invested in environmental-justice communities to protect them from the worst effects of climate change and in renewable energy," he says.

The governor has called for a program to bring solar power to 10,000 low-income New Yorkers, the development of offshore wind, and the closure of all coal-fired power plants.

Cuomo also has called for expansion of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate compact for reducing power-plant emissions. But Sherrell says a corporate polluter fee would be more effective.

"It will raise more revenue and it will be a more aggressive price," he notes. "And critically, it will be across the economy, so it will also tackle buildings and transportation which together make up almost 80 percent of the state's emissions."

He says the governor's office has indicated interest in creating a polluter fee but has made no commitment to pursue it.

New York has been a national leader in developing clean-energy strategies. But Sherrell notes other states are now considering corporate polluter fees as a way to advance their efforts, and they could soon leave New York behind.

"Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington state is making this his priority issue for this year," he adds. "Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey has spoken about it and has also committed to 100 percent renewable energy, which Gov. Cuomo has not."

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and New York Sen. Kristen Gillibrand have expressed support for carbon pricing as a way to boost investment in renewable energy.

Andrea Sears, Public News Service - NY

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NY RENEWS at Gov. Cuomo’s Exec. Budget Hearing on Environmental Conservation - 2.27.2018