Empire State of Carbon

There's no way around it: in the next 15 years, we have to replace all of New York's fossil power plants with renewables. Unsurprisingly, the fossil industry is fighting this future tooth and nail, insisting they can keep their plants open by using false solutions like carbon capture, renewable natural gas, and green hydrogen. This fight, which has been raging for years, is coming to a head. Renowned energy justice attorney and advocate Raya Salter joins John and Juan-Pablo to break down the policy and politics of shutting down New York’s power plants. This episode covers: Why do we need to shut down existing plants?  What are false solutions, and why don’t they work?  And what does the Public Service Commission's zero emissions proceeding have to do with all this? Subscribe to the Energy Justice Law & Policy Center newsletter here.Ask us anything for the next episode.

We go deep on the NY HEAT Act, the key policy for tackling NY's biggest source of climate pollution: burning fossil fuels in buildings. Beloved New York climate leader Jessica Azulay from advocacy group Alliance for a Green Energy Economy (AGREE) joins John and Juan-Pablo to break down the policy and politics of NY HEAT: - How does the NY HEAT act stops the growth of the state's gas grid and starts the transition towards electric heat pumps, all while saving people money? - How did the Renewable Heat Now coalition make NY HEAT the top climate bill in the state? - Why it didn't pass, and what political obstacles does the movement need to overcome to pass it next session? Ask us anything for the next episode.

After a years-long drought, New York State just passed three major climate bills! Albany lobbyist extraordinaire Liz Moran from Earthjustice joins John and Juan-Pablo to break down the All-Electric Building Act, Build Public Renewables Act, and Cap & Invest Fund policies, and the awesome coalitions who won them: #GasFreeNY, Renewable Heat Now!, Public Power NY, and NYRenews.

We unpack Gov. Kathy Hochul's failed attempt to gut the state's nation-leading climate law by undercounting methane emissions. Ask us anything for the next episode.