Climate groups statewide are calling out Governor Kathy Hochul for what they see as backtracks on climate priorities. More than half a dozen rallies have occurred across the state outside her various regional offices.
As a part of the NY Renews Coalitions Week of Action, urgency, accountability, and frustration were the themes highlighted in a climate activist rally held outside Governor Kathy Hochul’s regional Buffalo office.
The crowd gathered on the corner of Mississippi and Perry Street, featuring several local climate organizers fueled by their anger with the Governor's recent decisions on certain climate legislation, and their outlook of the upcoming State budget deadline not prioritizing environmental policies.
PUSH Buffalo Climate Justice Organizer Dr. Majadi Baruti says actions such as an indefinite pause to the Cap-and-Invest program for fossil fuels, which was announced in Hochul’s State of the State address, have fractured trust from some.
“The people of this beautiful state did not give her permission to leave us at this time of crisis,” Baruti said. “Our Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, our law which she is supposed to execute to meet the greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and to meet equitable investment mandates. She has ignored them; she has dropped the ball.”
Other groups in attendance included the Partnership for the Public Good, Our City Action Buffalo, and the local Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, where Chairmen Bob Cieselski voiced his organization's concerns over the completion timeline of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
“In 2019, New York passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, one of the nation's boldest and best climate laws, firmly based on the best science in the world. It set targets for statewide emission reductions, renewable energy deployment, and requirements for climate investments to serve the needs of disadvantaged communities. Over five years later, not only are we not on track to meet these goals, but subsequent programs needed to move us along in the right direction have faltered in our state government,” Cieselski said.
With the 2025-26 state budget deadline approaching next month, statewide members of NY Renews plan to continue campaigning for Climate Campaign priorities throughout their week of action.
