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MEMORANDUM OF OPPOSITION<\/b><\/p>\r\n
ON PROPOSALS TO ROLLBACK THE CLCPA<\/b><\/p>\r\n
April 30, 2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n ____________________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\r\nDear Speaker Heastie and Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins,<\/span>\r\n\r\nWe write to strongly oppose the <\/span>reported proposed deal<\/span><\/a> on CLCPA rollbacks in the budget that would undermine New York\u2019s progress towards clean, affordable energy that secures our energy future and protects communities from deadly pollution. <\/span>We call on the legislature to reject the Governor\u2019s latest proposal to gut the climate law <\/b>and advocate for binding targets, near-term pollution reductions, increased safeguards for overburdened communities, and accelerating clean energy deployment to advance energy affordability.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThis is not a negotiation. It\u2019s a manufactured crisis deployed in an election year.<\/b> Our recent <\/span>op-ed in the Times Union<\/span><\/a> outlines the political choice being made to avoid accountability to a lawsuit and coerce the legislature into becoming accomplices in rewriting the climate law under the guise of protecting New Yorkers or risk being perceived as willing to sacrifice them to higher energy bills for the sake of climate progress. This is at the very least disingenuous, at worst, simply propaganda.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe proposal is not a simple tweak to the law based on an updated reality \u2013 it is a wholesale rewrite of the law.<\/b> The governor has repeatedly asked for more time to implement the law and do so affordably, given the near term targets in it. However, the list of rollbacks being reported would essentially make the law a lofty goal rather than a law. They obscure the true climate impact of New York\u2019s reliance on fracked gas \u2013 making emissions appear lower on paper while paving the way for increased investments in <\/span>expensive fossil fuel generated electricity<\/span><\/a>, delay implementation of emissions regulations to the end of 2028 and eliminate binding near-term emissions targets. This is the exact opposite of the legislative intent of the CLCPA.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe governor is using her outsized power in the budget process to coerce you to rewrite the law.<\/b> She\u2019s been clear about this for months \u2013 first through Blake Washington and then in an interview in early March \u2013 using the <\/span>NYSERDA memo as a scare tactic<\/span><\/a> and the lawsuit ruling as urgent justification.<\/span>\r\n\r\nNone of the changes to the CLCPA will save a penny for New Yorkers struggling to pay their bills today. <\/b>Despite the clear and actionable proposals put forward to address energy affordability from both houses of the legislature, the governor\u2019s own admission and reports from multiple news outlets, <\/span>the changes being sought to the climate law don\u2019t bring down bills<\/span><\/i>. So why the \u201chell or high water\u201d approach to changing the CLCPA?<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe governor's concerns can be addressed with just two targeted changes:<\/b> (a) updating the timing for releasing finalized emissions reduction regulations within 2027, and (b) a mandatory interim emissions target to anchor near-term action. Nothing more is needed to address the feasibility of the current obligations in the CLCPA or any affordability concerns.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWe understand that you are under tremendous pressure to solidify a deal to move past the budget and get through many necessary priorities in this year\u2019s session. If the narrow tweaks to the CLCPA can\u2019t be achieved, we urge the legislature to rally around a counter-proposal that preserves the core tenets of the CLCPA and ensures any budget deal with CLCPA rollbacks includes the following policy and funding:<\/span>\r\n