Affordability in NY requires leadership, not fossil fuels |
Affordability is unmistakably the dominant theme of today’s political zeitgeist. The fossil fuel industry and affiliated business groups, with their well-oiled propaganda machine and vast lobbying resources, have deceitfully exploited this to intimidate Gov. Kathy Hochul into halting New York’s progress towards a clean, sustainable and ultimately more affordable energy future.
Echoing buzzwords like “affordability and reliability” that the oil and gas industry has carefully curated for messaging effectiveness, in 2025, the Hochul administration halted the implementation of New York’s landmark climate law, greenlighted massive fracked gas pipeline and energy-intensive cryptocurrency projects, cancelled clean-electricity transmission projects, abruptly suspended building codes for new construction without fossil fuels and advanced a state energy plan to burn costly, polluting oil and gas largely unabated for decades.
None of these actions foster affordability. Quite to the contrary, by bolstering our dependence on fossil fuels, they set the stage for a costlier and more uncertain energy future, not to mention higher pollution and health care costs. New York has seen little reduction in fossil-fuel pollution since Hochul took office, yet New Yorkers are facing skyrocketing utility bills. Our energy unaffordability crisis is the........