March 11 was Faith Climate Action Day, a world-wide multi-faith collaboration to scale up efforts to mitigate climate change. March is also the time when New York State leaders of Senate, Assembly and Governor Cuomo negotiate budget decisions for the next year. So the timing is right to fund the bold climate measures passed in 2019, aiming to make New York State carbon neutral.
This post has been updated May 18, 2021.
Please read both letters below, send a message to Governor Cuomo and widely circulate the Dear Friends letter.
Governor Andrew M Cuomo May 2021
NYS Capitol Bldg
Albany, NY 12224
Dear Governor Cuomo;
As a person of faith, I believe in the sacredness of Earth and the dignity of all people. This creates a moral imperative that we address climate change more seriously beginning immediately. I believe we should be taking responsible action to move the state away from fossil fuels and toward a just transition to renewable energy. This clearly will take significant funding. I encourage you to encourage passage of NYRenews Climate and Community Investment Act (CCIA) and sign it promptly when it passes the legislature. NYRenews is a coalition of over 250 community, labor and business groups and they are proposing a new revenue stream to pursue environmental justice, approximately $15 billion annually, generated by making major polluters pay.
The Climate and Community Investment Act is a comprehensive package that will generate 150,000 good green jobs over 10 years and prioritizes investment in areas most impacted by pollution and/or climate change. The training and labor provisions in the CCIA will be greatly appreciated by our residents of Rochester where long term high unemployment and poverty have been severely exacerbated by COVID-19. The rebate provisions in CCIA will assure that the majority of lower wage earners will not be negatively impacted by possible energy cost increases. We must expand wind and solar energy, repair infrastructure, and shift our vehicle fleet away from fossil fuels. The CCIA is an excellent mechanism to move us quickly into a new green energy future. It is intended as a funding stream to speed implementation of NYS’s groundbreaking CLCPA. Please help NYS achieve the green house gas reductions mandated by the CLCPA by securing passage of CCIA.
Sincerely,
Name
Address
ROCHESTER AREA INTERFAITH CLIMATE ACTION
WWW.RAICA.net
Dear Friends,
On March 11, 2021, people of diverse religions all around the world observed a multi-faith day of action. To continue observation of this day, RAICA invites you to commit to action. In New York State this focuses on the passage of the Climate and Community Investment Act (CCIA). The attached letter gives a fuller description of this piece of legislation.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
1. Phone, submit an online form or write (copy the attached letter and add a personal note) to Governor Cuomo and ask him to support passage of the CCIA (S4264A/A6967) and promptly sign it when it passes the legislature.
Phone: 518-474-8390
Address: The Honorable Andrew Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYState Capitol Building
Albany, New York 12224
2. Forward this on to any friends, relatives, or colleagues who also might be interested in taking action, thus increasing our impact.
Yours,
RAICA Steering Committee
In case you don't know what CLCPA stands for in the letter to the Governor, it is the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, passed but not funded in 2019; Cuomo knows itl
THANK YOU!