New York State Will Continue to Protect Environmental Progress
It might be easy to feed into the bleakness that so many New Yorkers feel across the political landscape and at dinner tables throughout our state. The federal dismantling of proven environmental and public health protections is just one of the many challenges facing our state and nation. But while the harmful effects of the systemic removal of these protections cannot be understated, neither can our ability to push back against them. The choices we make today will bring real-life consequences that will affect the health of our neighbors and the future of our environment.
This week, leaders from across the globe are gathering for Climate Week in New York City. Once again, our visitors will see firsthand how strong environmental rules can coexist with a thriving economy.
New Yorkers are living proof. For decades, our bipartisan commitment to protecting clean air and clean water has more than paid off. Families are breathing easier. Habitats are healthier. And our economy has grown stronger and more resilient.
And yet, the Trump administration and some Congressional leaders remain committed to a reckless agenda that threatens our progress.
Take air quality. The haze that once blanketed our cities is largely gone. The truth is that those gains are the result of deliberate and hard-fought choices. The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments required more protective standards for pollution from industries, power plants, and vehicles. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency later found the benefits of those changes outweighed the costs by more than 30-to-1. Tens of thousands of premature deaths were prevented, along with countless heart attacks, asthma attacks, and missed days of school and work.
The benefits also translate to results we can see.
When wildfire smoke from Canada drifts south, New Yorkers are often stunned by the orange smog. It seems unusual now, but decades ago, it was commonplace for our communities to be blanketed by air pollutants, not fires. Those emissions from industries, vehicles, and other sources particularly affected low-income and minority communities that once again stand to lose the most if federal protections are rolled back or defunded.
The numbers tell the story. Between 2000 and 2023, sulfur dioxide pollution in New York fell by 98 percent. Particulate matter dropped by 90 percent. Nitrogen oxides fell by 84 percent. Volatile organic compounds fell by 71 percent. And carbon monoxide declined by 59 percent.
This progress was not a given. I’m proud of our State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) experts who worked closely with permitted facilities and vehicle manufacturers, among many other partners, to achieve air pollution milestones. We are now all greatly concerned about the efforts of the Trump administration and some Congressional leaders to return to our smog-filled past.
Despite the current odds, I remain hopeful.
Across New York, local governments of every political leaning are taking climate action into their own hands. More than 92 percent of the state’s population lives in one of the 460 municipalities that registered in DEC’s Climate Smart Communities program. They are planning for floods, protecting residents from extreme heat, investing in clean vehicles and energy, and building more sustainable neighborhoods.
State leaders are also setting the example for driving economic and environmental progress and prioritizing environmental justice. Governor Kathy Hochul and the Legislature already committed record funding to the $1 billion Sustainable Future Fund, the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act, and State Environmental Protection Fund, in addition to other climate-related investments such as the $6 billion dedicated to clean water infrastructure since 2017. These investments mean safer drinking water, new jobs, and healthier and more affordable communities.
New York also continues to work closely with other states. Through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, we have already cut power plant emissions by more than half while raising nearly $3 billion for affordable, climate-smart investments since 2009. And we work together through initiatives like the Affordable Clean Cars Coalition to help support widespread electric vehicle adoption for those who want them. We are committed to continuing that progress, even as federal agencies are directed to step back from their responsibilities.
And we are not a shy people. When necessary, New Yorkers will never hesitate to take the federal government to court. New York State will continue to protect our progress and ensure that long-standing legal precedents are not undermined by political recklessness.
None of this is easy. There will be setbacks and there will be more moments when our path forward can feel uncertain. But New York has always led. We have confronted polluted rivers, dirty air, and contaminated lands before, and we refused to accept them as the price of progress.
The same resolve is needed now. The stakes could not be higher, but neither could the opportunities. Our clearer horizons are not an accident. They are the result of decades of work, science-based policy, and a commitment to fairness. We owe it to ourselves and the generations of New Yorkers that follow to keep moving forward, no matter what storms come our way.
Amanda Lefton serves as Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
