FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 17, 2023
Contact: Lee Ziesche, info@publicpowerny.org, 954-415-6228
Public Power NY Demands Hochul Take Climate Action, Not Appoint Chevron Lawyer
Albany, New York – Today, New York Focus broke the shocking news that Governor Kathy Hochul’s nominee for the Court of Appeals, Caitlin Halligan, chose to represent fossil fuel giant Chevron in its disturbing and vindictive legal battle to destroy the career of environmental attorney Steven Donziger.
The extraordinary lengths Chevron went to inorder to abuse the U.S. legal system to punish Donziger for having won a massive court case for Indigenous Ecuadorian communities harmed by the Company’s oil drilling has had a chilling effect on further Environmental Justice litigation across the globe.
The Public Power NY Coalition released the following statement:
At the same time Governor Hochul is attempting to water down the Build Public Renewables Act, the most transformational climate and green job bills in the country, she’s trying to sneak a defender of climate criminals onto one of the most influential seats of power in our state.
We cannot forget the Indigenous communities poisoned by Chevron’s toxic oil and the Black and brown communities being poisoned in New York today by New York Power Authority (NYPA) owned fracked gas power plants. It’s time for Hochul to pick a side: does she stand with corporate polluters or with Environmental Justice communities here in New York and across the world? Governor Hochul must rescind this horrendous nominee and pass the full Build Public Renewables Act, which will shut down polluting power plants in Environmental Justice communities 5 years earlier than her “BPRA-lite”.
Hochul’s recent pattern of siding with the fossil fuel industry over working-class New Yorkers also proves the need for greater accountability and democratization in the NYPA board so the Assembly and Senate can vet nominees, as is proposed in the full BPRA.
The Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA) became a key issue in budget negotiations after the Governor included a stripped down version of the bill in her executive proposal that removes a mandate to build enough publicly owned renewables to meet climate benchmarks, gold standard union labor protections, accountability for leadership, and a timeline for shutting down NYPA owned fracked gas power plants in Black and brown communities.
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Note to the editor:
About Public Power NY
The Public Power NY Coalition is a statewide movement of community and advocacy organizations, and thousands of New Yorkers fighting to pass the Build Public Renewables Act, the nation’s biggest climate bill. It will enable New York to unleash the New York Power Authority, the country’s largest public power provider, to build publicly owned, 100% renewable energy; slash energy costs for those who need it most; and create tens of thousands of green union jobs that will finally unionize the green energy sector. The bill is endorsed by unions representing over 1 million members in New York including 1199SEIU, NYSUT, PSC-CUNY, UUP, and UAW 9A.
Read our report: Public Power & Climate Leadership: Feasibility of 100% Fossil-Free NYPA by 2030