The New York state budget was due April 1 but there is little indication that the negotiations are close to a breakthrough. A key policy obstacle is Gov. Kathy Hochul’s planned rollbacks of the state’s climate law, which advocates say could potentially harm Black and Brown communities.
“Coming out of an atrocious winter that saw home heating and natural gas prices skyrocket,” said Theodore A. Moore, executive director for Alliance for a Greater New York (ALIGN), “it’s hard to imagine she’s pulling back now.”
Moore believes many legislators are “holding firm” as the budget negotiations continue. The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) was passed in 2019 and requires the state to cut 25% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
“Rolling back our climate laws while utility bills skyrocket is a direct hit to working class New Yorkers,” said Assemblymember Claire Valdez, who is running for the 7th Congressional District seat. “Cutting clean energy to double down on gas raises our power bills, eliminates thousands of jobs, and makes our kids sick as smokestacks keep poisoning our neighborhoods. The only viable path to more affordable, healthier communities is a massive build-out of public renewable energy at the scale this crisis demands.”
The climate law was meant to pour at least 35% of a projected $3 to $5 billion (estimate from intended first year in 2020) revenue back into “disadvantaged” and “underserved” communities in places like the Bronx and Brooklyn, deliver on up to $8,500 in energy rebates for homeowners making under $200,000 a year, lower utility bills, and create green union jobs, said Moore.
Assemblymember Jordan Wright said that his main fight for the CLCPA and climate justice in the budget is because it could have a big impact in Harlem, especially as summer and winter weather continues to be extreme. “I remember how Superstorm Sandy affected my community. We have to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” said Wright. “We live on the water here in Harlem and we have to ensure that as these things are being considered, that we’re [not] on the fringes.”
Black and Brown communities tend to be more systemically vulnerable to warmer temperatures that demand access to air conditioning, shade and trees. They are also statistically more exposed to climate change pollutants that can lead to breathing and health issues.
“Gov. Kathy Hochul is hoping Black and Brown New Yorkers won’t read the fine print on the proposal,” said Moore. “By November this will be a down ballot thing, and the Democrats went along with it. Voters are going to remember who took away their climate law.”
Last year, climate groups opted to sue Hochul’s administration for missing the 2024 climate law deadlines. A state Supreme Court judge extended the deadline until this February. Hochul’s office turned around to appeal the court order on the grounds that President Donald Trump’s opposition to renewable energy and the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic have made the climate law difficult to implement. Hochul is not moving on other big budget items until the climate policy issue is resolved.
“The climate law requires the governor to reduce pollution, and in the process, also reduce energy bills and make sure that the communities all over the state are protected, particularly low income communities of color,” said Pete Sikora, the climate and inequality campaigns director with New York Communities for Change (NYCC), who was a part of several groups organizing a sit-in in Albany. “She has refused to do that, and so she got sued about a year ago to enforce that very clear language in the law.”
Hochul is suggesting delaying the law’s mandates from 2030 to existing 2050 targets, with timely progress toward a to-be-determined 2040 milestone. She would also change the “emissions accounting methodology.” This is not seen as gutting the CLCPA, but rather acknowledging current economic and political realities that have shifted since the law passed, said Hochul’s office. Moving the date would also essentially kill the lawsuit.
“Reckless policies coming out of Washington D.C. are driving prices up across the board, and struggling New Yorkers cannot be expected to shoulder higher costs,” said Ken Lovett, senior communications advisor on energy and environment for Hochul. “That’s why Governor Hochul is proposing common-sense reforms to the climate law that protects the environment and vulnerable communities while prioritizing affordability. The Governor’s all-of-the-above approach to energy will give New York the resources it needs to keep the lights on and costs down.”
Despite derision, Hochul’s office is standing behind its record on clean energy. The state has the first utility-scale offshore wind farm in operation in the U.S, with two more under construction; the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE), which is hydroelectric power; and the nation’s first-ever congestion pricing program, which helped decrease emissions in the city and downstate. Lovett added that there’s a combination of obstacles to getting the climate law off-the-ground, including high inflation, supply chain issues, Trump’s imposed tariffs driving up project costs, Trump’s attacks on any new offshore wind projects, and an elimination of federal incentives for solar and electric vehicles.
Advocates vehemently oppose any amendments to the climate law and disagree with Hochul’s reasons for the rollbacks.
Her argument is that the climate law is raising utility bills, which Sikora claims is categorically “untrue.” It would also save the state money in the long-run, claimed a 2025 analysis from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and Resources for the Future (RFF). That said, a 2026 letter from NYSERDA’s President & CEO Doreen Harris later stated that if the climate law were fully implemented as is, New York households and businesses would see high costs.
In Albany, passionate environmental groups have traveled to the state’s capitol to perform a sit-in outside Hochul’s office, ending in the arrests of several people on April 21.
“Our message to Governor Hochul is clear, if you want lower gas and electric bills, then you should protect our climate law instead of trying to roll it back,” said Patrick Robbins, director of the Utility Customers Association, in a statement. “We are grateful for the climate and affordability champions in Albany who are speaking out for the CLCPA.”
Other legislators have even taken to social media to post videos of themselves gawking at gas station prices and slamming Hochul for not supporting the climate law. In one post, Assemblymember Joanne Simon and Senator Roxanne Persaud attribute increasing energy costs to “Trump’s illegal war in Iran” and implore Hochul to change her mind.