New York climate advocates urge environmentally friendly approach to homebuilding
Author: Nick Reisman
Climate advocates in New York are cheering Gov. Kathy Hochul's plan to create a "cap and invest" program in which polluters' payments go toward expanding renewable energy projects in the state. But at the same time, they are urging that the plan to expand housing by 800,000 units in the coming years and are urging the new housing have a low impact on the state's environment. Hochul's $227 billion budget unveiled on February 1, 2023 in Albany includes a variety of measures meant to enact a plan to transition the state from fossil fuels to more renewable forms of energy in the coming years. The change will affect how New Yorkers heat their homes and businesses as well as how they get to work. Hochul also wants to spend $500 million in the coming year from borrowed money raised by an environmental infrastructure bonding act approved by voters last year, with money meant to shore up the state's water and sewer systems as well as build electric vehicle chargers. The New York League of Conservation Voters in a statement Wednesday applauded the plans to create a "cap and invest" program in which credits are purchased by polluters, with the proceeds used to build renewable energy projects.