Issue Position: Combating Climate Change

Issue Position

As we watch oceans rise, beautiful shoreline communities such as Bath Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Gerritsen Beach are sitting ducks in the face of the next big superstorm. I believe we can and should lead the nation in protecting the planet.

Unless we act now, future generations will pay for our negligence.

For decades, we have been warned about the disastrous effects of human-caused climate change. However, in recent years, we have come to a place where we do not even need these scientific warnings. In our neighborhoods, we saw Super Storm Sandy ravage our communities; we see winters that have one or two days of snow, even though those of us that grew up here were accustomed to white winters; we see the annual number of heat advisories rise from year to year, accompanied by so many of our loved ones succumbing to stroke or respiratory illness. The disastrous effects of climate change are upon us; we need to act quickly and decisively. The good news is that if we invest and plan now, we can create thousands of infrastructure and green energy jobs, which will preserve our communities and strengthen our economy.

Here's my plan to combat climate change:

Ensure that the State and Governor meet their commitment to build the largest offshore wind energy project in the history of the nation. I One of the reasons I supported the CLCPA last year was because it required the state to dramatically reinvest in offshore wind. I will continue to hold the Governor and NYSERDA accountable to developing that clean energy projects in a timely manner.

Support the Climate and Community Investment Act Last year, we passed the most aggressive pollution-reduction targets in the nation. Now we need to pass legislation that will ensure steady funding for those goals. The Climate and Community Investment Act would put a small price on the pollution created by the state's heaviest emitters and invest it in jobs, clean energy, infrastructure and transportation projects and the communities that have born the brunt of pollution and emissions. It is time to make polluters pay for the cost and damage they profit from.

Fight for a true just transition to a clean energy ecnomy. New York's energy infrastructure is under a dramatic transition. Whether that means retired coal or gas plants, or the decommissioned Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, there are thousands of workers, familes and communities at risk of losing wages and municipal revenue. The clean energy transition should not come on the backs of the workers and communities that have kept our lights on and power running for so many decades. Plant closures should be accompanied by statewide funds that will ensure pensions, pay full wages, and invest in education and training opportunities for incumbent workers.

Support legislation to require the State's annual Tax Expenditure Report to include an enumeration and evaluation of all fossil fuel related tax expenditures to allow us to identify and end counterproductive state fossil fuel subsidies that cost us money and harm the environment.

Invest in smart, community and science-driven solutions to protect our coastal communities from rising sea levels and storm surges.. There is no silver bullet that will protect our coastal communities from rising sea levels: we need community-driven processes that weigh the best science and the impact on our neighborhoods in order to develop sea walls, storm swales, absorptive wetlands and other infrastructure projects that will blunt the effects of future storms and hurricanes.

Ensure that the energy jobs of the future provide a living wage and full benefits. We know that the choice between jobs and the climate is a false one. We need to ensure that the same wages, benefits and safe working conditions that workers in our powerplants, mines and refineries have will also be afforded to the highly-skilled workers who build and maintain green energy.

Make corporate polluters pay for the damage they've caused to our communities and the environment. We can put a price on the pollution that out-of-state corporations import into our state, and use the revenue to fund clean energy, public transportation, housing, and cash payments to New Yorkers, who have otherwise been forced to pay for the costs of the pollution these giant corporations create.

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