What is the CLCPA?

Have you heard about the CLCPA, or Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act? This revolutionary legislation, passed and signed into law in July 2019, is already greatly changing the lives of each and every New York resident and has also influenced national legislation related to climate change. 

The CLCPA sets goals of net-zero emissions by 2050 and 100% renewable electricity by 2040– that’s huge! It’s due in part to a mixture of the CLCPA, grassroots organizing, and market forces that NY no longer has any coal-powered electricity generation, a huge win not only for climate justice but also for environmental justice, as so many of these older inefficient facilities were located in the heart of marginalized communities.

The reverberations of the CLCPA are being felt all throughout NY governance, and currently there are a number of related public comment periods for supportive documents – for example, the DEC is accepting comments through February 7th on air permit processes and on how the CLCPA will be integrated into the day-to-day activities of the DEC. Even more notably, the full CLCPA Draft Scoping Plan is undergoing a 120 public review comment period right now, and there will be hearings in multiple locations throughout the state in April – we will be sure to let you know when one is planned for Buffalo!

We still have a long way to go, though, towards implementing the CLCPA – and we’ve already seen new industries like Proof-of-Work Blockchain Mining emerge that threaten to undermine efforts to reach the benchmarks of the CLCPA even before the initial legislation is fully funded. Organizations statewide are joining together in support of the passage of a slate of bills and legislative actions, called the “Climate Can’t Wait” platform, which will support the implementation and goals of the CLCPA.

We encourage our members to visit the Climate Can’t Wait website to read more about each and every one of these bills, and then take a moment to contact your Albany representatives to let them know you support the passage of this slate of legislation. As Buffalo and WNY residents, we especially encourage contacting Governor Hochul’s office by calling 518-474-8390 or visiting https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form.  

To find your state senator’s contact information, visit https://www.nysenate.gov/registration/nojs/form/start/find-my-senator. To find your assemblymember’s contact information, visit https://nyassembly.gov/mem/search/. 

Learn more about the CLCPA by visiting these resources:

• https://www.nyrenews.org/
• https://climatecantwait.org/ 
• https://climate.ny.gov/
• https://climate.ny.gov/Climate-Resources 
• https://nysclimateimpacts.org/ 
• https://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/99223.html
• Grist.org – “New York’s ambitious climate and environmental justice laws are in effect. Here’s what’s next.”
• Grist.org – “One year later, what has New York’s landmark climate law accomplished?”
• Grist.org – “2 years after passing a landmark climate law, New York has no plan to fund it”
• https://www.thejustice40.com/
• Bloomberg Law – “The Impact of New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act”
• Environmental Advocates of NY CLCPA One-pager
• NY Renews CLCPA One-pager 
• NY Renews CLCPA and CAC Implementation Toolkit