Lander and advocates lobby Hochul to sign climate change superfund bill

Climate activists and elected officials – including newly-minted mayoral candidate Brad Lander – are calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the Climate Change Superfund Act, armed with new numbers on how much money it could be saving New York taxpayers.

According to a new analysis from the New York Public Interest Research Group, Food and Water Watch and other environmental advocates, the state has spent $1.3 billion on resiliency projects so far this year alone. Right now, taxpayers are footing the bill for those projects, which are necessary to both combat and ameliorate the effects of climate change. But the Climate Change Superfund Act could change that by requiring top polluters to pay a combined $3 billion per year to the state for 25 years in order to finance climate change-related projects. “The need for the Climate Change Superfund Act couldn’t be clearer: New York is spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on damage repairs, resilience upgrades and protection programs resulting from Big Oil’s massive pollution and decades-long campaign of deception,” said Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Following years of advocacy, lawmakers approved the legislation earlier this summer, just before leaving Albany for the year. But Hochul has not yet committed to signing the bill. Advocates will hold a rally outside a cooling center in Brooklyn on Thursday to pressure the governor to commit to signing the bill. New York City Comptroller, who recently declared his candidacy for mayor, is attending the rally. “We need significant investments to upgrade our infrastructure to meet the changing climate,” Lander told City & State. “The corporations responsible for causing the climate crisis should be on the hook for upgrading the sewer systems and expanding air conditioning in schools and nursing homes.” 

The event comes just two days after heavy rain downstate resulted in dangerous flash flooding, and as the New York City region prepares for the remnants of Hurricane Debby to hit. It also follows a summer so far marked by multiple heatwaves. “Heavy rains and heatwaves are the new normal, but New Yorkers should not be stuck footing the bill of damages from extreme weather,” Lander said.

A spokesperson for the governor would not say whether Hochul plans to sign the bill. “Governor Hochul has championed climate resiliency throughout her time in office and unveiled a comprehensive plan and investments to protect New Yorkers from extreme weather as part of her 2024 State of the State agenda,” the spokesperson told City & State. “The Governor is reviewing all legislation that passed both houses of the Legislature.”