Moving Forward on Climate in 2025: New York State Must Hold its Ground and Pick Up its Pace, Too

by Carmi Orenstein, Editor, the Networker, and Program Director, Concerned Health Professionals of New York

In light of the rapid backsliding at the federal level, many of us are now counting on state governments to go all out to protect environmental and public health advancements, and continue to put policies in place that meet the moment of the unfolding climate crisis. In New York State, this can sometimes feel like one-step-forward-two-steps-back. At other times, our organizations and movements, along with certain lawmakers of great integrity, inspire confidence that we’ll indeed knock it out of the park and lead the nation in sound, logical, policy protection and development. 

Positioned all around the United States, SEHN staff are each involved to varying degrees  with developments in our respective states (though the scope of our work is not at all limited geographically). Concerned Health Professionals of New York (CHPNY) was created at a watershed moment in our state (industry efforts to frack for methane gas, soundly defeated!). Part of SEHN now for several years, we continue our New York work, which complements our national and international collaborations. 

New York has arrived at a complex crossroads of environment- and climate-related decision making and it’s as important as ever to keep the science-guided public health voice loud and clear here. I’ve written about our continuing involvement in coalition work that is amplifying the extensive documentation on the health harms of residential gas-fired appliances, working in partnership with groups offering building electrification education and advancement opportunities. We also provide the public health rationale for law-making related to fossil fuels in the home and building electrification, and we contribute to various other campaigns in the same vein.

Below is a snapshot of some of the existing and pending policy that—all told and if completely realized—would position New York as a healthier and saner place amid the current federal-level regression. The state could also serve as a model and source of inspiration—as it has been for its fracking ban. At this juncture though, it’s not clear that on-the-books policy will be carried out as intended nor that important pending or proposed policy will be put in place and adequately funded.

Image credit: New York State Museum. https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/surf_fingerlakes.jpg

Signed into law… but off track. New York State’s Climate Law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), signed in July 2019, was widely seen as one of the most ambitious of its kind. But, it remains to be seen if we can accomplish what it demands. It requires the state to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and by no less than 85 percent by 2050, from 1990 levels. I spoke with Cornell University’s Atkinson Professor of Ecology & Environmental Biology, Robert W. Howarth, who has been instrumental in the development of the Law’s implementation plan. He continues to be “terribly excited about the CLCPA, which remains some of the most progressive climate legislation passed in any state.” He adds, 

And I am proud to serve as a member of the Climate Action Council, the group charged by the CLCPA to develop the implementation plan.  The Council spent several years of serious debate, taking input from the public through expert panels and many public hearings, as well as thousands of pages of written input. This culminated in us passing the implementation plan by a 19-3 vote in December 2022.  It was a strong plan, and if followed by the agencies and authorities of the State, we would be making excellent progress toward meeting the goals of the CLCPA.  However, progress has been slow, particularly with regard to decarbonizing our buildings. Emissions from our homes and commercial buildings in New York are the largest source of greenhouse gases, and these must be reduced rapidly to meet the CLCPA targets. The State is lagging in tackling this problem. 

Here are just some of the actions that would enable that goal-meeting, with updates from some of the steadfast grassroots campaigns at work to get us there.

Snail’s pace, missed deadlines: Cap-and-invest. The frustratingly slow pace of certain initiatives that would actually execute the Climate Law has frustrated everyone who understands the implications of getting off track from the law’s science-based requirements. Now over five years after its passage, New York has simply not taken the steps needed.

The program known as “cap-and-invest” is a key part of the implementation of the Climate Law. New York Governor Kathy Hochul promised it over two years ago and the relevant state agency, NYSERDA, has worked out the details. But deadlines have blown past. A suit filed last month by four of our allied organizations in the state alleges, “Even as more frequent extreme weather events driven by climate change batter New York, the state is stonewalling necessary climate action in outright violation of its statutory obligations.”

The suit asserts that the Governor has backtracked on her commitment to a cap-and-invest system. A first step in March 2025 produced draft regulations that would “require reporting from certain significant greenhouse gas emissions sources,” but “is solely for reporting purposes and would not require pollution reductions or the purchase of allowances.” A cap-and-invest system is not realized until polluters are actually charged for their carbon pollution, which then would create the conditions for winding down emissions in line with the Climate Law. 

The system also generates revenue and the delay in implementation has meant the loss of billions of dollars annually, funds that by law would be invested in cutting pollution. A coalition in our state is working hard to make sure that the funds raised through a fully realized cap-and-invest program prioritize communities by directing those funds to clean energy projects, public health protection, and climate resilience. They’ve envisioned and are working on a “Fund Climate Campaign” of intersecting policies that invigorate the Climate Law and ensure the just transition needed. These policies zero in on necessary steps to create healthy homes and communities. As we at CHPNY continue educating about the health harms of the entire methane gas infrastructure—from pipelines to compressor stations to gas stoves—our work can only lead to health and real protections if accompanied by actual avenues through which communities can transition to clean energy.  

Another pending bill, the Healthy Homes Right to Know Act, would require signage in stores and warning labels on gas stoves sold in New York State, reflecting the serious risk of harm they pose, especially to children. As mentioned above, we at CHPNY have done a series of public presentations across the state over the last year in partnership with Frack Action and other allied organizations to inform the public about these threats and the need to transition swiftly to healthy, clean energy in our homes and beyond. 

As Dr. Howarth notes, decarbonizing our buildings is absolutely critical to our climate goals (as well as to other aspects of public health) and the state is lagging.

The pragmatic steps needed, e.g. NY HEAT. The NY Home Energy Affordable Transition Act, or NY HEAT Act, is a set of pragmatic fixes to existing law that would stop the incentivization of future spending on methane gas infrastructure, ending illogical mandates on gas use. Groups statewide have labored to get this package into the state budget—so far to great disappointment, but NY HEAT has been energetically reintroduced. And it’s popular: 67 percent of Democrats, 47 percent of Republicans, and 55 percent of independents agreed the NY HEAT Act should have passed last legislative session. 

CHPNY has been on-call providing the latest health-based rationale for its complete passage. With the state legislature currently still in session, the Renewable Heat Now campaign is holding events all over New York. Says Lisa Marshall, Advocacy and Organizing Director, New Yorkers for Clean Power, on behalf of the campaign: “It’s our job to step up the grassroots pressure and keep NY HEAT top of mind for our Assemblymembers during the few short weeks remaining of the legislative session!” 

NY HEAT has also been a key 2025 priority for the grassroots organization Climate Families NYC. Co-chair Marta Schaaf, DrPH, told me,

The HEAT Act will address three top concerns faced by families in New York State: it will help to lessen indoor air pollution, reduce household carbon emissions, and ensure heat affordability for working families. More specifically, the bill will halt the expansion of outdated and polluting gas infrastructure and redirect funds toward clean energy solutions. This transition supports climate justice by ensuring that all communities, particularly those historically marginalized, have access to sustainable energy options.

Dr. Schaaf described their unique tactics for keeping NY HEAT in the public eye include, as part of their “Hurry Up Hochul” campaign:

Climate Families has staged climate playdates in playgrounds in New York City, staged an action outside Governor Hochul’s office, hand-delivered hundreds of kids’ drawings depicting a green future, called, written letters, and more. We even have a giant storybook recounting how “Slochul” listens to kids and finally takes urgent action to protect kids, not polluters. 

Those protections that would be provided to New York’s children are urgent. Homes and other buildings that run on electricity rather than fossil fuels provide safer indoor and outdoor air, as well as helping to slash overall carbon emissions. As CHPNY says in its efforts to inform the public and elected officials on the bill’s urgency, most recently in a health professionals’ sign-on letter to the Governor and legislators:

We are all disturbed by the ongoing asthma crisis in our state’s cities, from New York to Rochester—as documented in the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s 2024 Allergy Capitals report—as well as by other conditions and illnesses created or exacerbated by polluted air, indoors and out. We’re discouraged at the newest ratings from the American Lung Association: of the fourteen New York State counties measured for particle pollution, half were rated a “C” or below in air quality.

NY HEAT would accelerate New Yorkers’ access to safer and more affordable, reliable, and comfortable alternatives for heating, cooling, cooking, and water heating, and save household money on their utility bills. From concern for children’s lungs, to the need to adhere to the science-driven requirements of the Climate Law, New Yorkers need to see NY HEAT as law. 

A critical piece of clean energy infrastructure. The New York Public Service Commission, the state agency that regulates energy utilities, is considering a proposal to bring back to life a once on-track, then killed, and now once again pending, large-scale clean energy transmission line called Clean Path NY. As noted in a letter that Frack Action put together, which CHPNY signed, “The 1,300 MW Clean Path NY transmission line would bring significant amounts of wind, solar, and hydropower to New York City, which is vital to advancing clean energy and meeting our state's climate goals.”

This year’s budget—and holding our legal ground—will determine New York’s standing as a climate leader. It’s discouraging to see headlines like “State Budget Goes Small On Climate.” While the budget allocates a record amount for climate programs, “[i]t’s smaller, notably, than the billions the state was hoping to raise every year through cap and invest, a program that would have charged companies for the pollution they generate and redistributed the proceeds to climate initiatives.”

In including some initiatives that our allies have organized and fought for, the Governor’s budget seems to recognize their necessity. For example, I’ve been thrilled to offer presentations on the health harms of gas-fired appliances alongside those advocating for the GAP Fund (Green Affordable Pre-Electrification). The GAP Fund is another highly practical initiative which will provide financial support for upgrades to buildings that are not ready for the necessary weatherization and electrification. This includes certain kinds of structural repairs, remediation of lead, mold, and asbestos, and electrical upgrades. “The bill also contains tenant protections so that residents are not displaced as a result of building improvements.” Unfortunately, the GAP Fund, though thankfully included in the budget, is allocated $2 million in the budget, and to be fully executed needs $200 million. Our allies will continue to work for its expansion.  

The budget contains other climate-forward bits. Of the $1 billion for a dedicated climate action fund, a chunk funds “thermal energy networks.” Supported by organized labor as well as climate-focused groups, continued funding for thermal energy networks will help our state build neighborhood-scale decarbonization projects, with a current focus on state university campuses.

Says the collaboration Upgrade NY,

This budget continues New York’s national leadership in thermal energy networks, building on the progress of the 2022 Utility Thermal Energy Network and Jobs Act and supported by the Environmental Bond Act. We thank Governor Hochul and the Legislature for recognizing the urgent need to modernize our infrastructure and invest in solutions that strengthen communities and deliver on our climate and equity commitments.

We’ve seen several other steps of progress on the road to meeting our state’s legal climate obligations, but there are other well-conceived initiatives that are in need of urgent attention. 

New York is, of course, dealing with perhaps unprecedented external pressures. It is one of just two states (along with Vermont) which has passed a Climate Change Superfund Act. (Similar bills are currently pending in California, Maryland, and Massachusetts.) Sometimes known as “make polluters pay” legislation, these policies are based on climate attribution research, through which linkages between greenhouse gas emitters and particular harms are established, and the polluter pays for past damages. This could affect companies outside of New York State. After New York’s law passed, twenty-two states sued to block it, followed by a federal executive order calling the laws “burdensome and ideologically motivated.” Then, at the beginning of this month, Trump’s Justice Department filed federal lawsuits against Vermont and New York’s climate superfund laws. 

New York and these other states must hold their ground defending their science-based and health-protective laws, while they pick up the pace on the nitty-gritty details that meet what this moment requires. A snail’s pace won’t cut it.