Gov. Hochul Won With Congestion Pricing; She Can Do It Again With Climate Action
Two years ago, New York was getting ready for a summertime launch of the nation’s first congestion pricing program. But in late spring, Governor Kathy Hochul, mindful of rising costs, decided to pause the program.
Those concerns were understandable, but after congestion pricing took effect in January of 2025, the quality-of-life improvements and economic gains were apparent almost immediately. The program has since been hailed as a major policy and political victory for the governor.
Through her strong leadership – by forging ahead with congestion pricing, by standing up to the Trump Administration, by prioritizing the long-term well-being of New Yorkers – she demonstrated that New York can accomplish big things.
Now, once again, affordability is top of mind for the governor as she weighs changes to New York’s landmark climate law. And New York is facing increasing demands on our electricity grid – NYISO estimates there will be a 50% to 90% increase in energy demand in the next 20 years – while rising utility bills threaten to cut into family budgets across the state.
However, the prescription the Governor is proposing is something New Yorkers truly cannot afford.
The crux of the governor’s argument stems from a three-page report from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which provides a doom and gloom representation of how a cap-and-invest program – the primary policy tool that will enable the state to meet the Climate Act’s emissions targets – would be designed.
Those projections assume the most aggressive implementation without factoring in cost controls, rebates, and more importantly, the hundreds of thousands of jobs that would be created, and the extensive clean air benefits the program would provide. It’s also silent about the huge economic costs we already face from climate change, in mitigation, disaster relief, insurance premiums, and healthcare, which only compound as we delay.
We cannot wait until 2030 to implement cap-and-invest. The truth is affordable clean energy is not the problem. It’s the solution.
It’s the solution to electricity demand that will continue to rise with the boom in data centers and AI. And it’s the solution to the roller coaster ride of fossil fuels, the costs of which are not just high and unpredictable, but out of control. Conflict, contested shipping lanes, oil cartels, sending billions of dollars out of state to pay for oil and gas – this is not what domestic energy security looks like.
Weakening the Climate Act will do nothing to reduce rising demand or increase badly needed supply, and it sure won’t protect families from the strain of sky-high utility bills.
We’ve been here before. Prior to congestion pricing, New York families and businesses lost an estimated $20 billion each year in wasted time and other costs associated with traffic gridlock. Looking at the toll in a vacuum, it was reasonable to assume it would result in higher costs in certain sectors. But in practice, those concerns have been outweighed by the savings that come from creating a better system to begin with.
A similar dynamic applies to climate policy. The path forward should not be determined by a narrow analysis that fails to account for cost-saving measures and the steep cost of inaction.
The governor has consistently emphasized affordability as her guiding principle and demonstrated her support for climate action – principles we agree with. But New York currently spends $44 billion a year on fossil fuels, all of which leaves the state’s economy and fuels pollution instead of investing in homegrown, clean energy jobs.
Climate action and affordability go hand in hand. We need smart implementation and policies that lower energy costs over time, reduce volatility tied to fossil fuels, and protect households from the growing financial impacts of climate change.
Nobody claims this will be easy. However, as with congestion pricing, voters recognize elected leaders for doing the hard things that improve their lives.
By advancing smart and effective implementation strategies, Governor Hochul and the Legislature can once again demonstrate that we are capable of tackling big challenges that deliver lasting benefits for our communities.
Julie Tighe is President of the New York League of Conservation Voters
