MUST BE AN ELECTION YEAR!

“New York Governor Kathy Hochul Finally Admits Her Own Party's Green Dream Is Crushing Families

Even hardcore Democrats are waving the white flag on their climate fantasy. On March 20, 2026, Gov. Kathy Hochul stood at a gas pump—symbolism much?—and confessed that the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act she once cheered is now too painful for "working families" to swallow.

The law's "noble" goals of cleaner air and lower emissions? Sure, she still loves them in theory. But reality hit hard: inflation, supply chain chaos, global energy mess, and skyrocketing utility bills that could add thousands of dollars a year to household costs.

Hochul's blunt take from the video: "If we stay on the current path without making adjustments, utility bills are going to go up thousands of dollars a year for the average household. Gas prices at the pump — we're already seeing increases, and these mandates could add another couple of dollars per gallon. That's not sustainable. That's not fair. We cannot leave working families behind in the name of environmental progress."

She even admitted the world "has changed dramatically since 2019" and that ramming through these mandates would "crush the people we're trying to help." So her big fix? Delay the mandates, push deadlines out (some to 2030 or beyond), and tweak the rules so New York doesn't look like a total failure on emissions.

This is peak liberal hypocrisy. Democrats rammed through aggressive green mandates when energy was cheap and voters weren't paying attention. Now, with families getting hammered at the pump and on their power bills, the same crowd that preached "the science is settled" suddenly needs "more time" and "realistic" tweaks. Hochul wants to protect the environment and affordability—she just realized you can't have both when your policies jack up costs by 20-30%.

The left's climate cult promised utopia. Instead, it delivered pain. Hochul's half-measure delay is just a Band-Aid on a self-inflicted wound. If the goals were truly noble, why wait until voters revolt to admit the timeline was delusional? New Yorkers deserve better than excuses from the party that sold them this mess. End the mandates, not just postpone the bill.”

MY OPPONENT DANA wrote this as an opinion piece:

New York’s nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) set ambitious goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, starting with a 40% reduction by 2030. As we enter 2026, it can feel like 2030 is close. But as tempting as it may be for some to seek an extension on this deadline, we should not consider weakening this legislation. We must begin implementation of the primary policy vehicle that will drive reductions in carbon emissions – cap-and-invest – as soon as possible. For economic and environmental reasons, let’s move full speed ahead. 

By making polluters pay for their emissions and investing the proceeds in initiatives that reduce emissions, cap-and-invest can put money into New Yorkers’ pockets – through targeted cash payments and incentives for taking actions that reduce emissions, and through the savings households can generate by taking those actions. Claims that implementing our climate law would make life less affordable for New Yorkers are not supported by the facts; they’re supported by propaganda, promoted by industries that are trying to cut their own costs at our expense. In truth, fossil fuels are what drive up costs, while clean energy and climate investments bring those costs down. 

Thanks to technological advances and economies of scale, renewable energy is typically cheaper to build and operate than fossil fuels. Oil and gas price spikes are a major driver of inflation; when fossil fuel prices soar, the cost of doing business rises with them, which pushes up the cost of living. By contrast, clean energy is more stable, local and cost-effective. Our own Public Service Commission Chair Rory Christian recently noted that aging fossil fuel infrastructure, not the state’s climate law, is one of the biggest drivers of New York’s rising energy costs. As things currently stand, we are paying more and getting less. The climate crisis guarantees that pattern will worsen unless we act. 

A state Supreme Court judge recently ruled that the Department of Environmental Conservation must issue the regulations to implement CLCPA mandates by Feb. 6. This should not be difficult; reporting from Politico confirms that the Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority already had draft cap-and-invest regulations ready at the beginning of last year. Further delay would harm every New Yorker and would not help families who are struggling with energy bills today. We would do better to help residents by implementing our climate law, as described above, in addition to passing other reforms that will be needed as time goes on, such as measures to make large tech companies pay their fair share for the energy they consume. 

Legislators are entrusted to safeguard the health and well-being of our communities. Legislating a retreat from the CLCPA would do the opposite. It would deepen pollution and ensure that the costs of climate inaction continue to escalate. New Yorkers don’t have the luxury of waiting for climate action. We see the consequences of delay – and the costs those consequences bring with them – every year with increasing frequency: extreme heat, wildfire haze, flooded roads and rail lines, along with skyrocketing energy bills driven by our dependence on fossil fuels. 

New York recognized the urgency of climate action in 2019, when we first passed the CLCPA. Ever since, fossil fuel interests have been trying to wear down our resolve to see our climate commitments through. We cannot give in to them. 

Every New York State Senate Democrat voted against a proposal that would axe burdensome energy mandates, including repealing the All Electric Building Act, that have driven up housing costs. In effect, continuing to push homeownership out of reach for everyday New Yorkers.