Senators Mayer & Kaminsky Host Discussion on Climate & Community Protection Act

On Friday, May 3, State Senators Shelley Mayer (D-Westchester) and Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Island), Chair of Senate Environmental Conservation Committee and sponsor of the CCPA, hosted a panel at the Rye Nature Center to discuss the Climate and Community Protection Act, a comprehensive bill to address climate change. Leading experts in the field joined the Senators for the discussion: Ryan Madden (Sustainability Organizer, Long Island Progressive Coalition & Steering Committee Member, NY Renews); Ed Berry (Executive Board Member, Lower Hudson Sierra Club); Ellen Conrad (Co-Founder & President of Bedford 2020); and Raya Salter (Principal Consultant, Imagine Power LLC).

The event provided information about the bill, S.2992/A.3876, as well as opportunities for questions and answers.

The Climate and Community Protection Act (CCPA) is a sweeping bill that seeks to mitigate and address the adverse effects of climate change. With particular attention to the impact climate change has on marginalized communities, the CCPA improves New York’s resiliency and provides binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions while creating good jobs in the green economy. One of the central aims of the CCPA is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero through a statewide action plan that is developed with multiple opportunities for community input.

Senator Todd Kaminsky, SD-9, the bill sponsor, said, “This forum on the Climate and Community Protection Act ("CCPA") continued an important conversation about how our state will lead the nation in producing green jobs, cutting carbon emissions, and tackling the challenge of global warming head on,” said Senator Todd Kaminsky, Chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee and bill sponsor. “I was pleased to join Senator Mayer for this important forum to hear from Westchester stakeholders about the importance of improving our state's environment and passing the CCPA."

Senator Mayer, SD-37, said, “We have already seen the devastating effects of climate change throughout New York. From Bedford to Rye to Yonkers, I have seen firsthand the frequency and intensity of storms causing catastrophic flooding and damage. We must take immediate action to build resiliency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I thank Senator Kaminsky for sponsoring the CCPA and for traveling to communities throughout New York to explain and build support for this essential legislation.”   

Ryan Madden, Sustainability Organizer, Long Island Progressive Coalition & Steering Committee Member, NY Renews, said, "Long Island is on the frontline of climate change. Our coastal communities are threatened by sea-level rise; families are still recovering from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy; and neighborhoods are overburdened with air pollution from fossil fuels, causing cancers and heart disease. We need to pass the Climate and Community Protection Act now to move NYS to 100% renewable energy and invest in communities most impacted by the crisis. With Senator Todd Kaminsky and Assemblyman Steve Englebright, both from Long Island, serving as lead sponsors of this bill, I know 2019 will be the year we finally get this done." 

Raya Salter, Principal Consultant, Imagine Power LLC, said, “the CCPA makes commitments to both emissions reductions and investments that will make communities safer and more resilient to climate change - this is the real deal for climate in NY and we need the CCPA now.”

Ed Berry, Executive Board Member, Lower Hudson Sierra Club, said, “Reducing carbon emissions should be the number one goal of conscientious citizens. There is no Planet B.” 

Ellen Conrad, Co-Founder & President of Bedford 2020, said, "Bedford 2020 applauds the work of Senators Shelley Mayer and Todd Kaminsky in bringing legislative action to solve the urgent climate crisis that is affecting every community in New York State and beyond. I hope the process of creating a scoping plan can be accomplished in less than 2 years so we can see the results even sooner."