NYCLU Condemns Hochul’s Climate Law Rollbacks

NEW YORK – Today, Governor Hochul announced that she will propose rollbacks to New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The law sets goals for curtailing greenhouse gas emissions and prohibits state actions that increase pollution in disadvantaged communities. In response, the New York Civil Liberties Union released the following statement attributable to Lanessa Owens-Chaplin, Director of the NYCLU’s Racial Justice Center.   

“The CLCPA is a critical safeguard against environmental racism. The Governor’s proposed rollbacks are an affront to Black and Brown communities that have long borne the brunt of pollution and rely on these protections. 

“At a time when the Trump administration is determined to erase hard-won environmental progress, our state must strengthen its commitment to protecting disadvantaged communities, not retreat from it.  

“Black and Brown New Yorkers cannot be treated as an afterthought in the fight for climate justice. We urge the state legislature to reject these harmful rollbacks and uphold the promise of the CLCPA.” 

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