Roger Downs, Atlantic Chapter Conservation Director
For New Yorkers, the fall presidential and state legislative races could be the most important electoral event of our time. Voters will decide the fate of two radically divergent political trajectories — one of an unhinged presidency spiraling the country into further chaos, and another of a state legislature attempting to fill the void of federal leadership with ambitious new policies in New York.
On the environmental front, this election could mean the difference between having one last chance at reversing the worst impacts of climate change and letting a rapidly warming planet slip past the point of no return.
At the federal level, the Trump administration is on pace to vacate or substantially weaken over 100 environmental rules and regulations that oversee the protection of clean water, air quality, endangered species and the global climate, while eviscerating agency budgets and enforcement capacity of the rules that still remain on the books. It is this same abdication of responsibility and rejection of science-based precaution that precipitated the global spread of the COVID-19 virus, and led to the deaths of over 200,000 Americans. The resulting implosion of our economy has created a New York State budget deficit of over $15 billion, which will only add more misery to the pandemic as the legislature and governor will be forced to make cuts to all public services to fill the financial gaps.
Even with this fiscal crisis, there is hope at the state level. Under the progressive leadership of Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, decades of legislative gridlock have been lifted in the past two years, and a wave of reform on matters of criminal justice, healthcare, housing, gender equality, immigrant rights, gun control, education and fair elections has put New York State on a better path toward a more prosperous and equitable society.
On environmental issues, this legislature has been especially bold. In the past two years, in concert with Governor Cuomo, the legislature has enacted the nation’s most ambitious climate laws, advanced major renewable energy development, and established bans on fracking, plastic bags, polystyrene Styrofoam food containers and a myriad of toxic chemicals. In addition to these victories, our state’s leaders simultaneously secured historic levels of funding for environmental programs, including measures to protect wilderness and address climate resiliency.
Perhaps the most distinctive, yet subtle, environmental accomplishment of this new legislature is how it has sewn a statutory obligation of environmental justice into all these advancements, prioritizing disadvantaged communities as the state tackles the climate crisis. That directive hangs in the balance if the state Senate fails to retain progressive leadership.
The 2020 fall elections bring special importance to New York because the party that retains majorities in the Senate and the Assembly historically has presided over the redistricting process — both state and congressional — for the next ten years. A constitutional amendment passed in 2014 will bring more independence to the appointed commission tasked with redrawing the new district lines — but there are legitimate concerns that the majority party will still have greater influence over the process. For the environment, and the realization of our climate goals, having the current state leadership retain their posts in the fall election could not be more important.
In truth, the most difficult and transformative work of this legislature is yet to come — and may have been intentionally forestalled until after a fair and just redistricting is assured.
The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act has provided the enforceable structure by which the state has to achieve a 100% renewable energy grid by 2040 and carbon neutrality by 2050. But New York is struggling, especially now with COVID debt, to finance the transition from fossil fuels to wind, solar and energy storage.
In 2021, the returning legislature and the governor must advance the Climate and Community Investment Act (CCIA) if we are to maintain our momentum. This groundbreaking legislation would create an index of carbon emissions and co-pollutants, and set up financial mechanisms to make polluters pay for the costs of contaminating our environment. Those funds would then be invested back into communities in the form of renewable energy development, electrified public transportation, worker retraining programs and building efficiency jobs. The allocation of these funds would be dispersed through a filter that prioritizes equity, racial justice and fair labor practices.
One can imagine that advancing such a law would necessitate great political courage, as many industries and carbon emitters have been aligning themselves with Trump and saving their resources to draw the line with this exact fight in NY — another reason these fall elections will decide so much more than just senators, assembly members, members of Congress and a president. The outcomes will redefine New York and the country’s trajectory on climate change.
The Sierra Club recognizes the catastrophic consequences of a second Trump administration. We have mobilized our volunteer network nationwide to support Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s commitment to bold climate action and social justice through a Green New Deal, affordable health care, progressive judicial appointments, clean drinking water, compassionate immigration policies and police reform.
But even as Sierra Club helps defend the vote on election day, we know the stage is being set for more of Trump’s chaos. Strengthening New York’s current political trajectory on climate will be both a beacon to guide the Biden administration and a continued bulwark against Trump’s climate criminality.
Please consider joining a local NY congressional, senate or assembly campaign or donating to the Sierra Club’s NY PAC (http://bit.ly/SCNY_PAC) and taking action/donating via Sierra Club’s “2020 Plan to Win” (https://www.sierraclubindependentaction.org/2020-plan-to-win) and/or supporting and donately directly to critical campaigns at the national and state level. It’s really now or never.