Dozens of climate activists gathered at the New York State Capitol on March 10 to raise the voices of faith leaders to demand climate justice for all New Yorkers. The coalition included Jewish organizations Dayenu, RAC-NY, and NFTY, as well as clergy and activists from other faith traditions.
The activists delivered a letter, signed by more than 150 faith leaders, calling on the Governor to take decisive climate action and ensure investments in a clean energy future. It notes: “As people of faith and conscience, we believe that in order for future generations and all life to thrive on this planet, we need decisive climate action and investments in a clean energy future.”
Specifically, the clergy members urge Governor Hochul to immediately release all the Draft Cap-Trade-and-Invest Regulations and initiate the public hearing and comment period.
The list of clergy includes leaders from a wide variety of faith traditions, and indicates strong and broad support for quick and decisive climate action for the state to reach its legally binding emissions reduction standards.
The letter is part of a broader effort to hold the Governor and New York legislature accountable for effective climate action during this session. Given inaction and backsliding on climate progress at the federal level, it’s imperative for states to act now, and build out a clean energy future to enable us, and future generations, to live safely.
QUOTES
The letter notes: “As you identified yourself, Cap-Trade-and-Invest is the state’s most promising program to reach New York’s legally binding climate mandates at the rate that science and justice demand. Implementing this program will cap the amount that corporate polluters can emit, require that they pay for their share of pollution, while enabling the State to invest in clean energy, public health, good jobs, and affordability for all New Yorkers. This approach prioritizes communities, especially those who have suffered most from pollution and disinvestment.”
“Cap Trade and Invest is our best chance at hitting our state’s climate goals and ensuring a just and livable future for all New Yorkers – no matter zipcode, race or religion. Governor Hochul, release the regs!”
– Reverend Chelsea MacMillan, Greenfaith
“Presbyterians are concerned about the devastating effects of climate change. We acknowledge that people living on the margins are often the most impacted by displacement, property damage, and other climate-related harms, and that powerful entities have been significant contributors to global warming.”
– Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Courter, Justice Ministries Committee, Presbytery of NYC
“It is crucial to the lives of New York’s most marginalized communities, BIPOC women and children, that Governor Hochul acts within her understanding of her faith. What she purports as a commitment to God is intrinsically bound to protection of the Earth and BIPOC communities by releasing these regulations funding the Climate…postehaste.”
– Rev. Dr. Majadi Baruti, Udja Temple, Buffalo
“Deuteronomy 16:20 says, ‘Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue.’ Justice calls us to protect lives and livelihoods, not to choose profit over people. Yet while the most vulnerable bear the burden of pollution, billionaires and corporate polluters receive subsidies. We have a moral obligation to reverse this injustice. Cap, Trade, and Invest will hold polluters accountable, fund clean energy, and prioritize communities most harmed. Every day of delay deepens the crisis. We urge our leaders to act now—because climate justice isn’t just policy, it’s a moral mandate.”
— Rev. Mira, Minister for Justice, Advocacy, and Change, The Riverside Church
“We can proudly say that our state has been a climate leader but we are now in danger of falling short of the ambitious climate coals that have been set by Gov. Hochul and our elected officials to ensure that we continue to make progress in a just and equitable way by funding programs that move us towards a clean energy future.
…We demand that Governor Hochul follow through on her commitment to Cap Trade and Invest and release the draft regulations that are awaiting her signature that would enable the state to meet the goals of the CLCPA, setting a strict pollution cap and supporting those communities that have suffered the most from poverty, pollution and the burning of dirty fossil fuels, We have but one world – if we destroy it, there will be none after it.”
– Rabbi Renni Altman, Vasser Temple
“It’s urgent for our state, and our Governor, to take action immediately and release the draft regulations to mitigate the threat that the climate crisis poses to our world. The impacts of the climate crisis —wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and extreme heat—are devastating our country, and imposing the most severe harm on Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income communities. What is under threat is nothing less than our ability to live l’dor vador, from generation to generation.”
– Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, Founder and CEO of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action