Through rain and cold, via electric vehicle and rail, the Sierra Club’s New York team ventured on a Get Set, Go Green! relay from multiple corners of the Empire State to send a message to Governor Cuomo: Start 2020 off with a clear target to clean up transportation in New York and move us away from our dirty, gas-guzzling status quo.
But first, a little background: In his 2019 State of the State address in January, Governor Cuomo left us with a bold promise: “The time for talking is over. It is the time for doing.” This summer, after years of pressure from advocates, the New York Legislature and Governor Cuomo passed a groundbreaking climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).
It’s known as one of the boldest in the country, setting ambitious and necessary goals for a carbon-free grid by 2040, a 70% clean energy standard, and a goal of net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050.
One key sector didn’t get much attention in the bill: transportation. Nationally and in New York, transportation is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. New York also has the census tracts in the entire Northeast with the highest exposure to vehicular particulate matter, which contributes to a wide array of health impacts. Tailpipe pollution from cars, trucks, and buses is disproportionately impacting communities of color.
In September, we released a report showing a different path forward for New York. It identified reducing motor vehicle emissions 55% by 2035 as an achievable goal and showed various ways the state could get there.
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We started building support around that goal, having conversations with decision-makers, businesses, and allies about the need to act quickly to cut emissions from motor vehicles.
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We held local meetings to translate what 55% by 2035 might look like for local communities and how this transition could help address transportation inequities.
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We launched a statewide petition and our partners at the Natural Resources Defense Council and League of Conservation Voters hopped on board and reached out to their members and supporters.
Last week, we culminated our power-building efforts over the last few months into a statewide relay to Albany to deliver the petition with over 7,800 signatures right to the Governor's desk.
Here’s a play-by-play of our December Get Set, Go Green! relay:
In Buffalo, Sierra Club activist Sara Schultz hopped on Amtrak to hand off petitions to Rochester…
In Rochester, organizer David Alicea hosted a successful press conference at a local electric vehicle business called EV Charge Solutions with partners including Mothers Out Front and Rochester People’s Climate Coalition. We highlighted how electrified transportation is already creating jobs in the Rochester region, including installation jobs building out EV infrastructure, and roles at companies like EV Charge Solutions, which sells charging stations.
(Fun fact: EV Charge Solutions made the Rochester Chamber of Commerce’s Top 100 Businesses of 2019.)
This transition to clean transportation is funding long-term investment in the region, with residents charging their vehicles on local clean energy instead of importing gasoline from outside the state.
"We've done the analysis and it’s an achievable goal. We can do it and it will set New York as a leader in the sector.”
—David Alicea speaking to WXXI News before a snowy commute to Albany in his EV
Then, David loaded the petitions into his EV and hit the road for Albany.
Sierra Club Organizer David Alicea making a pit stop for a charge!
Meanwhile, on Long Island, Assemblymember Steve Englebright (sponsor of the CLCPA) and local elected officials joined with transportation and climate advocates at the historic Stony Brook Long Island Rail Road station to highlight local successes and call on Cuomo to commit to the bigger picture of 55% by 2035.
Photo credit: Randee Daddona
The Long Island crew bid farewell to Sierra Club activist Edgar Sid, who hopped on the train to bring the petitions to New York City … where activists (including from Jobs to Move America and Tri-State Transportation Campaign) accepted them and bid farewell to me (yes, me!). I hopped on the Amtrak and made my way to Albany for our petition delivery the next day.
From left to right, Darwin Keung with Tristate Transportation Campaign, Allison Considine with the Sierra Club, Avalon Hoek-Spaans with the Sierra Club, and Farah Ahmed with Jobs to Move America
Meanwhile, Sierra Club activist Stephanie Doba was making her way down to Albany from Plattsburgh in an electric vehicle!
Four days after the start of our relay, we kicked off our petition delivery in Albany with a press conference with Assemblymember Patrica Fahy, Assemblymember John McDonald III, advocates from six transportation and environmental groups, and a local EV charging business. We called on Governor Cuomo to continue his visionary leadership with the next obvious steps in the New Year, including committing to an emissions reduction target for transportation in his 2020 State of the State address and signing onto the regional Transportation and Climate Initiative in the spring.
Transportation is a critical part of our lives. It's how we get from A to B. But the status quo of our transportation systems worsens our air quality and contributes to climate disruption. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can and we must and we will continue to advocate for a clean transportation future that doesn’t worsen climate change and endanger the health of our most vulnerable communities.