When the state’s final budget was released earlier this month, not a single major climate bill was included. No Climate Change Superfund Act, no NY HEAT Act, no Stop Climate Polluter Handouts Act.

It was a shocking development in light of the state’s supposed commitment to achieving an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. That’s what New York State’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) requires, but you’d never know it flipping though the pages of this year’s budget book.

The operative word in the title of the CLCPA is “leadership.” It was hard to discern any of that, however, when it came to Gov. Hochul and the legislature, especially the General Assembly. Instead, anxiety about the upcoming elections prevailed and Democrats took the safe way out. It was a sad day in Albany and there was little to celebrate when Earth Day occurred a few days later.

The Fossil Fuel Industry Betrayal

It was bad enough when we found out this past January that the fossil fuel industry had more than enough evidence as early as 1954 to understand the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the climate. But then word came today, with the release of internal documents, that Big Oil lobbied against climate policies that they claimed to support. The betrayal was complete.

“For decades, the fossil-fuel industry has known about the economic and climate harms of its products,” declared Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) “but [it] has deceived the American public to keep collecting more than $600bn each year in subsidies while raking in record-breaking profits.”

Where Do We Go From Here?

In the context of these larger national events, the fact that oil and gas companies were a major factor in pressuring state legislators to forego climate legislation in this year’s budget is especially galling. All three major bills directly confront the oil and gas firms. The NY HEAT Act seeks to eliminate subsidies for new gas hookups, eliminate the “obligation to serve” gas to neighborhoods, and ensure that no low-income household would pay more than 6% of its income for energy.

The Climate Change Superfund Act holds major oil companies accountable for the harm they inflicted on New York between 2000 and 2018. It would require these companies to bear a share of the costs of infrastructure investments required to adapt to the impacts of climate change in the state. The program would assess the major fossil fuel emitters $3 billion annually over the span of 25 years to offset the climate damages incurred by the state.

The Stop Climate Polluter Handouts Act aims at paring back the $1.6 billion taxpayers hand out each year to the oil and gas companies in tax subsidies and other breaks. It defies logic that the state continues to provide huge subsidies to an industry that is causing so much destruction. This bill would end the most egregious state subsidies, amounting to $265 million annually.

The fight to secure the passage of these three bills is far from over. Even though the budget has been set, the legislature still has until June 1 to gain their approval. This is clearly the tougher road but climate movement activists across the state, including TCCPI, are gearing up to push even harder over the next four weeks for this legislation to become law. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work!