Renewable Heat Now decries the astonishing failure of the State Assembly to broker a deal to pass the New York Home Energy Affordable Transition (NY HEAT) Act last week.
Despite months of negotiation, the appalling inaction – in the midst of an ill-advised, end-of-session attempt by the Governor to roll back New York City’s landmark congestion pricing policy – is a betrayal of the people of New York, leaving them at the mercy of skyrocketing energy costs and unchecked greenhouse gas emissions for the foreseeable future.
With multiple major rate hikes on the horizon, we urge the Assembly to return for a special session and get this bill done now. The NY HEAT Act (A.4592B/S.2016B) would end outdated laws mandating public investment in expensive gas infrastructure, freeing up resources to enable New Yorkers to transition to cleaner, safer, and modern heating systems that will be more affordable in the long run. The legislation would enable utility regulations to finally align with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) goals as laid out in the gas transition section of the state’s Climate Action Scoping Plan. This means significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving air quality, and enhancing energy affordability for all New Yorkers.
“… the bill would also bring relief to the 1.4 million households …”
Crucially, the bill would also bring relief to the 1.4 million households who cannot afford their energy bills by setting a standard that households should not pay more than 6% of their income for utility bills and requiring a plan to achieve that goal through energy efficiency, renewable energy credits, and providing more robust bill discounts to struggling households.
The Renewable Heat Now campaign extends heartfelt gratitude and encouragement to the advocates and allies from every corner of the state who championed NY HEAT and worked tirelessly to pass this legislation day after day, month after month. Your commitment is what brought NY HEAT so close to passage this year. We are not done. We are emboldened by how far we have come together, and we will not let this temporary setback deter us in our fight for the cleaner heat and lower bills we need.
Organizational Quotes:
“The NY HEAT Act would have been a lifeline for New Yorkers struggling with high energy costs and facing the devastating impacts of the climate emergency. Our leaders in Albany – the State Assembly first and foremost – have once again shown where they stand by refusing to implement the state’s landmark climate law and enable a strategic and cost-effective transition away from fossil fuels in buildings. Their blockage of this bill for three years in a row is a shameful abdication of their duty to serve the people they represent. We will not forget this failure as we struggle with utility shutoffs, high temperatures, and bad air this summer,” said Jessica Azulay, Executive Director of Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE).
“A child born the year the CLPCA passed will be entering Kindergarten this fall, and still no progress has been made to begin the transition off of fracked gas in existing buildings and reduce the state’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, more New Yorkers are struggling with high energy burdens and every gas utility has dramatically raised rates or is planning to. Today the gas utilities and fossil fuel industry front groups are celebrating a win enabled by Assembly leadership, while the people of New York face another year of rate hikes and extreme weather – this is a travesty. But our grassroots movement is stronger, smarter, and more unified than ever. I know we will prevail,” said Lisa Marshall, Director of Organizing and Advocacy, New Yorkers for Clean Power.
“While our streets become rivers, and our planet becomes an oven, the Assembly continues to drop the ball on the most important issue of our lifetime — moving off climate-killing fossil fuels. Despite overwhelming support for the NY HEAT Act, Assembly Speaker Heastie and his lackeys in the Assembly let this critical legislation die, for the second year in a row,” said Laura Shindell, New York Senior Organizer with Food & Water Watch. “Flooding, wildfires, extreme heat, and skyrocketing energy bills will not cease just because our Assemblymembers rebuked the will of their constituents. This fight is not over — New Yorkers need the NY HEAT Act and we’ll be back.”
“The failure to pass the NY HEAT Act this session is deeply disappointing for mothers and caregivers all over NY state who strive for a better future for our children. Without this crucial legislation, the burden of high utility bills continues to fall on the most vulnerable families, and our progress towards a sustainable future is stalled. We want to make it clear that the climate movement will hold the Assembly Majority accountable for this outcome. We remain committed to advocating for the health and well-being of our children and will continue to push for policies that ensure a cleaner, safer environment for all,” said Bella Cockerell, NY State Manager, Mothers Out Front.
“Despite passing the Climate Superfund Act, by shooting down the NY HEAT Act yet again, just days after the Governor’s disastrous reversal on Congestion Pricing, the Assembly has made itself known as the house that shoots down climate action,” said Keanu Arpels-Josiah, 18, Policy Co-Lead with Fridays For Future NYC. “Our schools are flooding, our skies are turning orange, and our window to save our future is disappearing, yet Speaker Carl Heastie and his Assembly have again insisted that the profits of gas company executives are more important than protecting our generation and our communities. The Assembly must use the passage of the Climate Superfund Act to begin a shift in policy on climate, and that must begin with allowing a vote on the NY HEAT Act.”
“Some NYS Assembly members cravenly prioritized their reelection prospects and campaign contributions from the fracked gas industry over the health, affordability, and well-being of all New Yorkers by blocking the NY HEAT Act for a third consecutive year. Not only does this severely undermine the implementation of the state’s climate law, this also locks in future utility bill hikes for millions of New Yorkers. We will continue to organize, build even more people-power, hold the Assembly accountable for choosing profits over people, and will not rest until the NY HEAT Act becomes law,” said Anshul Gupta, a trained leader of the Climate Reality Project.
“May 2024 marked the 12th consecutive month of record-breaking temperatures. Yet, the NY Assembly failed their constituents today by failing to pass the NY HEAT Act and choosing to subsidize gas infrastructure and fossil fuel companies at the expense of New Yorkers who bear the burden of increased utility rates and the impacts of climate change. The NY HEAT Act provides the systems-level policy changes needed to address the dual crises of climate change and spiraling energy burdens. We will continue to campaign for this important legislation and we implore our elected officials to be leaders in transitioning NY State to an equitable, renewable energy future,” said Kristen Van Hooreweghe, Senior Director of Programs, Climate Solutions Accelerator.
“With Governor Hochul dropping a major bomb on climate action by delaying congestion pricing, the Assembly failed to rise to the occasion to pass the key climate policy New Yorkers need to cut energy bills and ensure the state is on track to meet our climate goals – the NY HEAT Act,” said Liz Moran, New York Policy Advocate with Earthjustice. “With utilities proposing to raise already high energy bills, which have been rising due to our reliance upon gas infrastructure, and one year after we saw orange skies, the Assembly has turned their backs on the policy solution. The same body that once championed our nation-leading climate law has now earned a reputation as the body holding back the policies New York needs to meet what is laid out in this law. New Yorkers won’t forget this failure. Earthjustice, our partners, and the thousands of New Yorkers across the state have waged a powerful campaign that will continue until the Assembly passes NY HEAT.”
Kim Fraczek, Director of Sane Energy Project, said, “Governor Hochul and Speaker Heastie have shown their true colors, prioritizing the interests of corporations over the well-being of New Yorkers by neglecting the NY HEAT Act. Their short-sightedness is displayed as National Grid prepares to burden downstate residents with skyrocketing utility bills to prop up its outdated and hazardous gas infrastructure. We hold Hochul and Heastie directly accountable for these impending financial hardships and their obstruction of meaningful climate action.”
The Assembly’s failure to pass NY HEAT at the end of session this year was simply a remarkable failure of vision and of leadership,” said Bob Cohen, Policy Director of Citizen Action of New York. “New Yorkers upstate and downstate are both confronting rate increase proposals by National Grid, and continuing moves to maintain the current fossil fuel infrastructure which is contributing to climate destruction. The state Public Service Commission needs to be instructed by the Legislature and the Governor to get serious about moving off fossil fuels, and NY HEAT provides us with the path forward to do this. We must do better in 2025 and pass NY HEAT early next session.”
Adam Flint, Director of Clean Energy Programs at the Network for a Sustainable Tomorrow (NEST), said, “After more than a decade of working on the ground supporting New Yorkers in getting the benefits of the clean energy transition, we’ve concluded that Assembly leadership and the Governor are not serious about implementing our climate law, and are instead doing the bidding of fossil fuel interests and their supporters. These same elected officials have cynically been taking credit for New York’s climate leadership on the national and international stage, all the while undermining real progress. Going forward, when our communities complain about the skyrocketing costs of heating and cooling, or the limitations of clean energy incentive programs, or suffering the effects of climate change, we will have no hesitation in telling them who is responsible, and who needs to be called out regarding their profound failure of leadership. We will be back, pressing for NY HEAT and other policies, year after year, until all New Yorkers can enjoy the fruits of the clean energy economy.”
“The New York Assembly leaders have once again let the public down by failing to pass the NY HEAT Act at the end of the legislative session. Amid the Governor’s stunning announcement to delay congestion pricing, New York is going in the wrong direction on tackling climate pollution. The NY HEAT Act is the solution to reduce skyrocketing utility bills, cut air pollution, and begin to unwind the web of pipelines that are causing climate destruction. By pushing needed climate action later and later, the Assembly Majority and Speaker Heastie are placing the worsening impacts of the climate crisis squarely on the backs of today’s youth and environmental justice communities,” said Megan Ahearn, NYPIRG Program Director.
“The Building Decarbonization Coalition is disappointed in the failure to deliver New Yorkers cleaner heat and lower bills by passing the NY HEAT Act. This failure to plan for a managed, phased, and equitable transition to clean heat and cooling is a plan to fail. But the building decarbonization movement in New York is growing, and it will not stop until the legislature passes NY HEAT, ” said Allison Considine, New York Senior Campaigns & Communications Manager at the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC).
“NY HEAT is a common-sense way to remove some of the barriers that prevent New Yorkers from accessing clean, affordable, job-creating energy solutions, such as geothermal heating and cooling. It was a mistake to leave this logical next step from New York’s Climate Plan on the table as the legislative session ended. NY-GEO stands ready to work with our elected leaders to correct that mistake as soon as possible in order to provide cleaner heat and lower bills for ratepayers across the state,” said Christine Hoffer, Executive Director, New York Geothermal Energy Organization.
“This has deadly implications as we head into another hot summer …”
“The New York State Assembly, under the leadership of Carl Heastie and Governor Kathy Hochul once again held the financial interests of fossil fuel companies in higher regard than the people who call this state home by failing to pass the NY HEAT Act,” said Annie Carforo, WE ACT’s Climate Justice Campaigns Manager. “This bill would have helped communities facilitate the orderly transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, which is essential for New York to reach its climate goals laid out in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act – and thereby reducing the disproportionate impact of climate change and air pollution on people of color. It would have also capped residential energy bills at 6 percent of household income, something the State had already committed to back in 2016 but failed to act on. This has deadly implications as we head into another hot summer where people cannot afford their energy bills.”
“Sound scientific research confirms that we are on a “disastrous trajectory” with “no adequate global governance” to deal with the scale of threats posed by climate tipping points. So, why on Earth would Governor Hochul and Assembly Speaker Heastie repeatedly fail to enact the NY HEAT Act – a critical step in funding and implementing our landmark New York State Climate Act. Last year, the State passed two climate bills that take effect two years from now. This year, only the Climate Change Superfund was passed and has yet to be signed by the Governor. This incremental approach and inaction only speeds up the race toward catastrophic tipping points. They are literally stealing from our children’s future to fund corporate profits,” said Michael Richardson, Third Act Upstate New York.
“By failing to pass the NY HEAT Act this session, the Governor and New York State Assembly chose the fossil-fueled status quo over the health and wallets of working New Yorkers. By prioritizing the bottom line for corporate fossil fuel companies, the Governor and Assembly sentenced households to ever-rising energy costs from unaffordable fracked gas, as well as toxic fumes that impact our lives and our health,” said NY Renews Executive Director, Stephan Edel. “With another summer of disastrous and extreme weather ahead, it’s clear there’s no more time to wait: We must shift NY’s main source of energy from gas and oil to renewable sources and lower our bills in the process—something NY HEAT could deliver if our leaders chose to act.”
“Frack Action is disappointed in the New York State Assembly’s failure to move New York in the direction of cleaner energy and lower utility bills. Every day we continue to use and hook up to fossil fuels we dig ourselves deeper into a climate and public health crisis. The NY HEAT Act was a major missed opportunity to show leadership in this state and across the nation. Our movement will only become bigger, better and broader as we move ahead,” said Renee Vogelsang, New York Director at Frack Action.
“Rising energy bills, unaffordable housing, and more chaotic climate are things we will remember this year as New Yorkers head to the polls. The Assembly, once again, delayed action on a bill that has been debated for three years. The NY HEAT Act, supported by the Governor and the Senate, would have brought much needed relief to low-income communities and communities of color across the State – and yet the Assembly needed more time for debate. With double-digit rate hikes hitting our wallets, more frequent extreme heat and flooding in our neighborhoods, and unbreathable air, the New York State Assembly has failed our communities once again,” said Denise Patel, NY Communities for Change.
“By the end of the NYS legislative session, Assembly leadership failed to stand up to the gas industry and protect vulnerable communities on the frontlines of the climate and energy affordability crises by calling for a vote to pass the NY HEAT Act. Their inaction was unconscionable and cowardly. It will reverberate across our region as resources continue to be siphoned away from community-led climate solutions to instead line the pockets of gas utility executives and shareholders. This has got to stop and we must fight on. PUSH Buffalo is determined to build the power we need as a movement to win a just transition to a healthy, renewable energy future for all New Yorkers,” said Clarke Gocker, Sr. Director of Movement Building at PUSH Buffalo.
“Extreme heat, widespread flooding, smoky orange skies – none of what we’ve experienced this year was enough to inspire the NYS Assembly and the Governor to prioritize the climate crisis, set aside fossil fuel industry disinformation, and pass NY HEAT. As a parent with a child the same age as Speaker Heastie’s daughter, I had hoped that the Speaker would fight for the health and safety of New York’s children by getting this bill passed in the Assembly. His failure to do so was extremely disappointing. We’re running out of time to secure our children’s future; later is too late” said Laurel Tumarkin, Co-lead of Climate Families NYC.
While Governor Hochul and her Dept of Public Service give away massive rate hikes across the state to fossil gas utilities for wasteful new pipelines we must stop using by 2040, she and Assembly Speaker Heastie could have assured any increases had accountability, reliability, and affordability with the NY HEAT Act. Instead, she slashes climate initiatives, scuttles wind farms that were to cost $3 a month as “too expensive” while shepherding a whopping $64 a month increase to every downstate fossil gas customer by 2026 and $20-30 a month electricity bill hikes to stay on dirty energy. The Governor’s and Speaker’s out of touch plans that dismantle climate action in the name of (completely failed) political points, is a travesty to all New Yorkers, said George Povall, Executive Director of All Our Energy
“New York cannot make the transition to healthy, cost-effective and emissions-free buildings if we continue to facilitate and subsidize new fracked gas infrastructure over efficient heat pumps and thermal energy networks,” said Roger Downs, Conservation Director for the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter. “Study after study has shown us that when it comes to addressing the climate crisis, inaction is always the most expensive option. The Assembly cannot fail New Yorkers again by refusing to end long-standing fossil fuel entitlements in our public service law. Carl Heastie should bring the Assembly back to Albany and finish the job in 2024 by passing the NY HEAT Act.”
“By passing the NY HEAT Act, New York would have become the first state in the nation to begin a strategic downsizing of the gas distribution system, enabling an equitable transition off of fossil gas in our building sector. It is an enormous missed opportunity and failure of leadership that once again the legislative session ended without amending antiquated public service laws or enacting real affordability protections,” said Betta Broad, Director, Advocacy & Organizing, Association for Energy Affordability. “We will continue working with our coalition partners to ensure that NY HEAT passes in the near future so we can finally begin shifting ratepayer-funded investments from outdated, climate-warming, air-polluting gas infrastructure to weatherization, high efficiency heat pumps and induction stoves, wherever possible.”
“… our representatives’ shameful inaction on climate catastrophe …”
“The New Yorkers already facing the worst consequences of our representatives’ shameful inaction on climate catastrophe are once again abandoned for the sake of fossil fuel corporations’ heinous wealth,” said Niki Cross, Staff Attorney at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. “The people have given a clear demand for rapid climate action through the passage of bills like NY HEAT, in line with the minimum mandates of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.”
“With the climate crisis already underway, the need to make a healthy change that takes into account everyone in New York State, rather than only the wealthy, has never been more apparent. The NY HEAT Act would have been a crucial first step in ensuring that the Green Revolution can be for all. The Climate Crisis has been an issue passed onto the next generation for far too long. We are out of time and we need to act NOW, or we won’t have any more future generations to pass the burden onto!” said Said Elijah Conlin, Director of Zero Hour New York State
“Air pollution is a policy choice, and it is preventable. Unchecked expansion of the methane gas system has made buildings into the greatest source of air pollution in our state, but the NY HEAT Act would have enabled a shift towards technologies that provide clean heating and cooling to entire neighborhoods,” said Delia Kulukundis, an organizer with 350Brooklyn. “By failing to bring NY HEAT to a vote, while wasting time discussing ways to enable Governor Hochul’s unlawful rollback of congestion pricing, the Assembly effectively voted in favor of air pollution – both from buildings and from vehicles. Unless Speaker Heastie brings the Assembly back to Albany to pass NY HEAT, New Yorkers will continue to subsidize fossil fuels through our energy bills as well as our medical bills.”
“… the Governor and Speaker have taken the side of the fossil fuel industry …”
“It’s hard not to be cynical watching Governor Hochul and Speaker Heastie play with the lives of New Yorkers. The climate crisis is upon us, and it demands a response in proportion to its catastrophic effects. By refusing to back the NY HEAT Act, in contrast to its passage in the Senate, the Governor and Speaker have taken the side of the fossil fuel industry which has knowingly misled the public about the harmful effects of pouring carbon and methane into the atmosphere,” said Peter Bardaglio, coordinator of the Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative. “The NY HEAT Act provides a sensible way to accelerate the energy transition, meet the requirements of the 2019 climate law, and help disadvantaged communities across the state. This is more than a missed opportunity; it’s an act of reckless neglect in favor of record corporate profits that will set back the climate effort in New York by years.”
“Jewish tradition teaches that “you are not required to finish your work, yet neither are you permitted to desist from it” (Pirkei Avot). The work of addressing climate change may not be finished in our lifetimes and will not be tackled by New Yorkers alone, but it cannot be completed unless New York’s political leaders act — year in and year out — to reduce our emissions. The Reform Jewish Movement in New York is deeply disappointed by the failure of New York’s legislature to do so this session — and, specifically, to enact the NY HEAT Act. We call on the Assembly to pass the NY HEAT Act next session.” said Ben Elkind, Lead Organizer of the New York Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC-NY)
“The failure of the NY State Assembly to pass the New York HEAT Act is unconscionable given the monumental challenges New Yorkers face as they seek to transition away from fossil fuel and embrace the requirements of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). As a member of the Catholic faith community, I am distraught that the provisions contained in the NY HEAT Act that would have assisted our most disadvantaged New Yorkers will not become the law of the land in 2024,” said Catherine C. Darcy, RSM of the Sisters of Mercy Justice Team – NY.
“Our state has still yet to fulfill the promise of the CLCPA …”
“The Assembly’s failure to pass the NY HEAT Act will leave New Yorkers–especially the most vulnerable among us–without solutions we desperately need for cleaner, more affordable energy. Our state has still yet to fulfill the promise of the CLCPA and each year without progress increases the stakes for our communities and the need for our elected officials to take action. In the face of this senseless outcome we remain inspired by the strength of the grassroots climate justice movement. This fight is far from over!” said Adam Kridler, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Brooklyn.
“Governor Hochul and Assembly leadership failed New Yorkers. It’s clear that fossil fuel companies and private utilities are allowed to run the show in Albany. The climate crisis is accelerating every day. We cannot afford another legislative session without significant progress on our renewable energy mandates. Hochul and Speaker Heastie must pass the NY HEAT Act and so much more,” said Daniel Atonna, Political Coordinator at For the Many.
“Beacon Climate Action Now (BCAN) is extremely disappointed in the NY State legislature for its failure to meet the moment and pass the NY HEAT Act. We did our work as constituents: we educated the public about this important legislation; we met with legislators and traveled to Albany to lobby for the bill; and we made hundreds of calls to our representatives. But our legislators did not do their job — they let a bill that would help us reach the state’s climate goals die on the vine, and the working families of our membership directly affected by this failure will continue to pay the price of high utility bills. While we are disappointed, we are not discouraged. We will continue to fight for NY HEAT because we know it is crucial to making a just transition off of fossil fuels.”
“… there will be no plan to transition communities across the state …”
“The Sheridan Hollow Alliance for Renewable Energy (SHARE) has been working for years to shut down a polluting power plant in the neighborhood next to the Capitol in Albany. Without the NY HEAT Act, there will be no plan to transition communities across the state to clean renewable power,” said Ruth Foster, Co-Chair of SHARE. “The climate crisis and New York’s climate law demand that we move quickly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Assembly and Governor Hochul must take immediate action to meet our climate goals, starting with passing the NY-HEAT Act.
“The failure to pass NY HEAT is a failure of leadership in the NYS Assembly, one with grave consequences for burdened ratepayers on Long Island. Instead of saving over $150 per month, communities now face National Grid rate hikes without any protection. This should be a top priority the next time the legislature convenes. It’s inexcusable to further delay both the implementation of our climate law and needed utility relief for struggling constituents,” said Ryan Madden, Climate & Energy Campaigns Director, Long Island Progressive Coalition.
“Passing the NY HEAT Act is essential for meeting our climate goals and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. At a time when affordability is critical for families, this bill is a no-brainer. It empowers New York to align utilities with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, promoting cleaner air and protecting public health. It’s a vital step for a sustainable future, ensuring affordable energy for all New Yorkers, especially low-to-moderate income households. The legislature must prioritize clean energy and lower utility bills now,” said Vanessa Fajans-Turner, Executive Director for Environmental Advocates NY.
Photo credit: HWM.
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