Here’s what we’re reading this week:
2022 NYC Policy Agenda Highlights
NYLCV's NYC Policy Agenda was released last week, and President Julie Tighe said to Politico that the city’s upcoming budget will be the first real test of where Adams and a slate of new City Council members stand on environmental issues. “We’re very much thinking that for 2022 and beyond that really we need to stop just doing reports and setting goals,” Tighe said in an interview. “It’s time to get down to brass tacks and — as the mayor would say — get stuff done.”
Green Tips: Takeout
As COVID cases are spiking and the weather is getting colder, many are opting for takeout rather than dining in. Plastic containers and excess packaging can make takeout a less eco-friendly option, but there are many ways to still be environmentally conscious.
Rep. Paul Tonko and Julie Tighe at the Port of Albany this past Friday for a major Offshore Wind announcement.
A prominent environmental group continues a push for a clean fuel standard and waste reduction measures after the priorities failed to advance last year. The New York League of Conservation Voters released its 2022 state agenda last Thursday, outlining top priorities revolving primarily around supporting the state’s emissions goals and backing an increase in the environmental bond act proposed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. NYLCV is also backing a range of other proposals including incentives for e-bikes and e-scooters, electrification of school buses, an update of the state’s wetlands regulation framework, updated building energy codes and energy efficiency standards for appliances.
New York has picked the state’s second offshore wind project in the same week that federal regulators announced plans to auction more waters off the south shore of Long Island. The state’s decision moves two offshore wind projects by developers Equinor and BP forward. Together the Empire Wind 2 and Beacon Wind projects are expected to generate 2,500 megawatts. That’s enough to power at least 400 homes in a year. It would further the state’s renewable energy goal to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. “They will initiate this new [master] plan to look at the next frontier of offshore wind development,” Julie Tighe, president of the New York League for Conservation Voters. “And ultimately, offshore wind will help us reduce our reliance on power plants, which are all too often polluting our environmental justice frontline communities.”
A coalition of environmental groups this legislative session is once again making a push for a measure aimed at making it easier to buy an electric vehicle in New York state. Long at issue in the state has been the direct sales cap on vehicle purchases in New York. Companies like Tesla manufacture electric vehicles and sell them directly to consumers. More broadly, the state is trying to reach 3 million electric vehicles on roadways by 2030 as part of targeted benchmarks to reduce emissions and curtail climate change.
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