The Business Council of New York State Announces Statewide Campaign to Urge Albany to Create and Implement Smart, Affordable, and Reliable Energy Policies
Business Groups from Across the State Announce Support for the New Campaign
Progress Is Essential – But Transition to a Low Carbon Economy Must Be Thoughtful And Practical
Campaign Comes on Heels of Growing Concerns Regarding Energy Reliability, Costs and Adverse Impacts on Households and Businesses
Albany (September 26, 2023) – The Business Council of New York State announced today the first of several state-wide information campaigns designed to educate New York voters on the impacts of significant legislation approved by state lawmakers. The campaigns will highlight and assess policy decisions that, regardless of intention, could adversely impact New York State’s private sector businesses and the millions of New Yorkers they employ.
Business groups representing thousands of companies from Niagara to Montauk join in the efforts to urge Albany lawmakers to create and implement smarter and better business policies.
The first campaign will focus on the transition toward clean energy sources and renewables.
Some energy transition policy decisions will have unintended consequences as we all try to cross the bridge to clean energy resources and renewable development.
As we move to implement the “Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act,” or CLCPA, policy decisions are being made that could have significant unintended consequences, including:
· Higher energy prices whose impacts would ripple through the state’s economy;
· Reduced reliability of the state’s energy grid that would affect homes, institutions and businesses; and
· Adverse impacts on the state’s overall economic climate that may discourage new investments and job growth.
“New York is at a crossroads. We are a worldwide leader in environmental initiatives and green energy policies, and we must and will continue to be the leader. But, we must also look at the policies and determine what is feasible, what is affordable, and what is best for the future of the State. That is what this campaign is all about, and this will be a campaign with supporters from across the spectrum from almost every industry from communities across the state. Let’s be clear: it is essential to push a green economy. It is also essential to make sure we can reach our environmental and clean energy goals without severely damaging New York’s families and businesses as well as jeopardizing the reliability of New York’s energy infrastructure,” said Heather Mulligan, President & CEO, The Business Council of New York State.
“A healthy and growing economy requires public policy that balances our environmental goals with the need for affordability and reliability of power supplies. We supported enactment of CLCPA because the legislation contains mechanisms that allow state agencies to achieve that balance. We urge those agencies to consider the implementation paths that can be taken in achieving CLCPA goals, and to choose paths that also protect the economic vibrancy of the state,” said Kathryn S. Wylde, President & CEO, Partnership for New York City.
“The NYSEDC recognizes the acute need for our state’s clean energy transition. But we also strongly believe that New York’s move away from fossil fuels and onto renewables must occur in a methodical manner that safeguards the reliability necessary to foster economic growth and protect public health and safety. New York needs to proceed toward its clean energy goals in a way that balances both practicality and reliability. After engaging in thousands of successful economic development projects statewide, NYSEDC members know that the best-laid plans require frequent revisiting as the landscape changes. An orderly transition is needed, which means regulators, elected officials, and members of the public must keep an open mind about timelines and short-term solutions to preserve stability both in our grid and our business climate. Flexibility and the ability to readjust expectations are the keys to long-term success and accomplishing our renewable energy goals. We thank the Business Council for this thoughtful initiative,” said Ryan Silva, Executive Director, New York State Economic Development Council.
“Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce is proud to support, promote, and engage in sustainable business practices as our economy shifts towards clean and renewable energy sources. This necessary transition must be done in a thoughtful and practical way. Low-cost and accessible power is a magnet for business attraction and retention, and we need to ensure that as we move forward, we do not inadvertently create economic hardships for businesses and families. We will continue to be at the forefront of advocacy in this space, working toward energy policies that make our economy more sustainable while avoiding adverse impacts on our grid capabilities, on energy prices, on families, and on our business community,” said Robert Duffy, President & CEO, Greater Rochester Chamber.
“The Capital Region Chamber looks forward to partnering with our chamber colleagues in this effort to educate all New Yorkers on important policies coming out of Albany. When it comes to energy, the Chamber supports policies to reduce emissions that will produce meaningful environmental progress; however, we have real concerns about how the state’s approach and timeframe will impact affordable and reliable energy for all consumers,” stated Mark Eagan, President and CEO of the Capital Region Chamber.
“Continuing to implement climate policy without regard to energy affordability and reliability is guaranteed to raise prices on all New Yorkers, weaken our economy, and accelerate New York's nation-worst outmigration trend. State lawmakers have a responsibility to balance the need to reduce emissions and safeguard our environment with the economic imperative of ensuring energy is affordable and reliable for both commercial and residential ratepayers. The Buffalo Niagara Partnership is proud to stand with The Business Council of New York State and employer organizations across New York to push Albany to head off a looming disaster and implement commonsense policies,” said Dottie Gallagher, President & CEO, Buffalo Niagara Partnership.
"We are grateful to the Business Council for wanting to work with the state in a collegial manner to achieve necessary milestones in realistic timelines as we move forward toward clean energy sources and renewables. The leadership of this important organization has shown, historically, its ability to mobilize our business community when difficult issues face us. The Rockland Business Association is proud to be part of a campaign that truly seeks to bring folks together at a point in time when that seems impossible. The path to a green energy economy is one we all travel; we need to do it together,” said Al Samuels, President/CEO, The Rockland Business Association.
“The Business Council of Westchester (BCW) the county’s largest business membership organization has been laser focused over the last five years on addressing Westchester county’s future energy landscape. The BCW has actively followed the push to impose hard deadlines on the cutoff of fossil fuel solutions to meet the mandates of the CLCPA plan. We have carefully assessed the the impacts both economic and personal it will have on every aspect of life in New York No business sector will be unaffected if fossil fuels are prematurely banned, The BCW remains deeply concerned about the unintended, but inevitable consequences of setting these self-imposed deadlines. The simple fact is that New York is way behind schedule in building the renewable energy infrastructure that must be created to achieve the goals that we support. The BCW will continue to ask state leaders the tough questions that must be answered to remove many of the issues that are occurring to prevent renewable energy systems to move forward. We also urge the governor and the state legislature to begin to have honest conversations with all stakeholders statewide on how we can achieve the goals to ensure that New York has a strong and reliable energy plan in place. Those conversations must also include transition plans that include continuing to use natural gas to support the energy system until the renewable energy infrastructure is in place. As we look to recruit and retain businesses to Westchester County and New York State we must be able to demonstrate that the state has a solid energy platform that will not cause reliability and costs issues. All of this will require a tremendous amount of work, mutual understanding, and cooperation on everyone’s part It is not an option and the time to begin is now,” said John Ravitz, President/COO, Business Council of Westchester.