By releasing the full draft regulations for New York’s Cap and Invest program and beginning the process of implementation, the Governor and State Legislature can add $3-5 Billion to the State Budget in the face of Federal Cuts, lower costs for New Yorkers, and provide much needed funds to Rochester. Call on Hochul and the State to take action at this link!

On Friday, March 21st, 1:30pm at the Area Labor Federation, Rochester Labor and Climate leaders gathered for a press conference as part of the NY Renews March Week of Action to call on Governor Hochul and the State Legislature to include the Fund Climate campaign priorities in the 2025-2026 fiscal year State Budget and to “release the regulations” for the pollution-reducing, revenue-raising Cap-and-Invest Program after months of the unpopular pause on its roll out. 

Currently, Governor Hochul has put the Cap & Invest regulations and program on hold, thus both walking away from an additional $3-5 Billion/year to the NY State budget in the face of Federal cuts and preventing New York State’s adherence to its own Climate Law in the face of an administration determined to worsen the climate crisis. She and the Legislature need to Fund Climate this year. The program will raise billions of dollars by making corporate polluters pay for their toxic emissions and direct funds toward protecting our communities from the worst effects of the climate crisis, building out the clean energy future of tomorrow. 

The #FundClimate campaign would be a boon for Rochester: it would generate money for free energy upgrades for low and moderate income homes, for a Sustainability Workforce Development Training center for the region, and would lower costs by an average of $400/family per year.  We cannot afford to miss this opportunity. And it’s popular: 80% of NYers support regulating emissions, and 74% support requiring fossil fuel companies to pay for their pollution.

Dan Maloney, President of the Rochester & Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation and President of United Auto Workers Local 1097: The Area Labor Federation calls on Governor Hochul and the Legislature to #FundClimate to release Billions that can be used in Rochester for projects like a Sustainability Workforce Development Training Center that would create paid apprenticeships and new jobs for those shut out of the workforce, to upgrade area homes while holding fossil fuel corporations accountable for the pollution they dump into our air.

LaWanda Shipman, Vice President of Federation of Social Workers: The Federation of Social Workers is a member of NY Renews because we know that by Funding Climate, we’d generate Billions to upgrade all low and moderate income homes in the area - lowering costs for Rochester residents, where we have the third highest energy burden in the Country. We’re the workers who see how hard hit our people are. Labor and Community groups are united - We need Hochul and the Legislature to stand up and Fight for NY - to fund climate THIS YEAR. 

Graham Hughes, Director of Policy & Advocacy for the Climate Solutions Accelerator: Passing up $3-5 Billion additional funding is a mistake. This is money Rochester needs, to lower costs, to create jobs, and to retool our economy to work for people. New York State and the Rochester Region need this funding to facilitate our transition off of fossil fuels and address housing affordability and workforce development. 

Dr. Michi Wenderlich, Campaign and Policy Coordinator of Metro Justice: In a federal landscape marked by authoritarianism and the slashing of already threadbare public services, anything less than bold, visionary leadership on climate justice is condemning our communities to climate and pollution-related illness, injury, and death. It’s time for Governor Hochul to fulfill her legal obligation to NYers and stand up to the Trump administration: She needs to Fund Climate this year!

Rochester City Council Member Mary Lupien:
In the face of federal cuts and actions to worsen the climate crisis, the Fund Climate campaign presents an unmissable opportunity for NY to generate an additional $3-5 Billion in 2025 - paid by polluters, not taxpayers. This funding can help Rochester address our affordable housing crisis, decrease energy burdens for the most vulnerable in our City, and bring good, high-paying jobs to our neighborhoods. It’s more important than ever to have a progressive vision that directly benefits working New Yorkers - we need Hochul to deliver for Rochester. 

Background on the Fund Climate Campaign:
New York Renew's key investment priorities for the funding generated by Cap & Invest include an Affordable Climate Ready Homes Program and a Community Directed Grant program. The Climate Ready Homes program would provide free electrification upgrades, like heat pumps, to low and moderate income families. For low-income families, heat pumps are the first time they have access to reliable central cooling technology, which can be life saving during increasingly common heat emergencies experienced disproportionately by communities of color in the City of Rochester. 

A Community Directed Grant program would allow Rochester to invest in critical clean energy workforce development needs. We believe a core need in our area is at least one Sustainability Workforce Training Center similar to the one already started by PUSH Buffalo. This sort of center would prioritize training for local low-income and of color residents, and match them with jobs, while paying them during apprenticeship. A recent study by CGR found that our region will see a 10% increase in the clean energy economy workforce by 2033. That’s approximately 9600 new jobs in the next 8 years. Jobs in this sector of the economy pay, on average, 20% higher wages compared to the overall economy. In order for Rochester to realize this growth in high paying clean energy jobs and ensure that disadvantaged communities have access to them, we need more investments in clean energy workforce development.

The NY Renews Fund Climate Campaign calls for the immediate release of all draft Cap-and-Invest regulations to initiate public comments and hearings on the program, so that it may go into effect to cap toxic pollution and raise long-awaited, sustained revenue for climate investment.  Additionally, all climate funding must go through the Climate Action Fund, which our coalition won in 2023. All dollars spent through the Climate Action Fund must meet climate, justice, and labor standards, and prioritize prioritize community-led projects and investments in state-designated Disadvantaged Communities, such as Rochester.

Legislatively, NY Renews calls for: 

• The Cap-and-Invest Guardrails Bill in the budget, to ensure the cap-and-invest system is bold and effective, raising billions of dollars from corporate polluters by capping their emissions, making them pay for their pollution, and using the funds to invest in climate, community, and clean energy projects across the state; and
• The Affordable, Climate-Ready Homes Act, NY HEAT, and the GAP Fund for cleaner energy, cheaper bills, and safe, weatherized, and climate-ready homes.
  

Background on NY Renews: NY Renews is a coalition of over 380 environmental, justice, faith, labor, and community groups, and the force behind the nation’s most progressive climate law. We fight for good jobs and climate justice, and we’re not finished yet. Most participating organizations today are NY Renews Coalition members, and First Unitarian Church of Rochester’s Environmental Justice Ministry, and Citizens Climate Lobby are additional sponsoring organizations.