As Donald Trump steps into the White House, the push to secure green programs and legislation that have been years in the making will be a top priority for environmental activists this legislative session.

Counteracting Donald Trump’s plans to expand the national use of planet-warming fossil fuels, New York’s environmental advocates are gearing up for an on-going battle to solidify the shift to cleaner energy sources at home.

“There is a tremendous amount of concern and urgency” to move the state’s progressive climate agenda forward, said Stephan Edel, executive director of the environmental coalition NY Renews. “It is not an appropriate moment to weaken our commitment to climate response.”

Edel and others say the political climate creates more urgency to get old items that have long been on their climate agenda across the finish line. These big ticket policies are part of a larger plan to nearly phase out fossil fuels by 2050, as outlined by New York’s landmark climate law, the Climate Leadership and Protection Act (CLCPA).

That means ironing out the details of a Cap-and-Invest program unveiled by Gov. Kathy Hochul two years ago that would put a price on carbon pollution. 

It also means passing groundbreaking bills to curb the use of oil and gas that failed to pass the last few legislative sessions. That includes a waste reduction bill that promises to limit the use of oil generated plastic packaging and the NY Heat Act, which has the power to deter the expansion of gas infrastructure across the state.

What’s on the docket?

Environmental groups agree that when it comes to priorities, getting Cap-and-Invest out the door is the main one. Preliminary details of the program do exist, but a formal draft that details the actual rules, which was supposed to be released last summer, is yet to come to fruition.

Cap-and-Invest establishes a limit on how much planet-warming emissions companies—like fuel and transportation suppliers, natural gas and electric utility providers—are allowed to emit. That cap gets stricter over time until New York’s emissions are brought down by at least 85 percent by 2050, in line with the state’s climate law. The program will also require polluters to purchase permits for every ton of pollution they emit above that limit.

“The dirtier the fuel—the bigger the price tag,” Hochul said when she first introduced the program at her State of the State address in 2023.

That price tag, advocates say, could raise at least $5 billion a year in 2025 and 2026, increasing to over $10 billion per year starting in 2027. The proceeds would help pay for a variety of costs associated with the fight against climate change, from protecting communities from natural disasters to funding the shift to cleaner electric energy.

Dedicated funding for those costs is essential: the quest to phase out fossil fuels under New York’s landmark climate law could run between $270 and $295 billion through 2050, a state analysis found. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) also emphasizes that failing to shift to clean energy would be even more expensive.

But creating that revenue stream has been an uphill battle as critics argue that it could drive up costs for consumers.

“The program as presented would levy a massive new charge, economically akin to a new tax—potentially reaching $12 billion annually by 2030—which will have significant impacts on consumers and the State’s economy,” the think tank Citizens Budget Commission said in a report issued last year that argues for a redesign of the program.

While advocates of the plan agree that this is a legitimate concern, they say the program can actually make life more affordable for New Yorkers, if done correctly.

The idea is to include a rebate initiative that would distribute $1 billion of the total revenue raised by the program to help New Yorkers “cover utility bills, transportation costs, and de-carbonization efforts,” according to Hochul.

Whether or not Hochul will make due on that promise and deliver a strong program remains to be seen. In an emailed statement, her press office said the governor will unveil her agenda at her State of the State speech next week, and the Fiscal Year 2026 Executive Budget later this month.

As environmentalists push for some version of the Cap-and-Invest program to materialize, they will also spend this year’s legislative session, which starts this week and ends in June, pressing to pass bills that guarantee the shift away from fossil fuels.

That includes two major bills backed by the environmental community, the New York Heat Act and the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, passed the Senate last year but failed to pass the Assembly.

The latter proposal aims to curb the use of plastic, requiring companies to redesign the products they sell in New York—where plastics account for approximately 14 percent of the municipal solid waste stream—to make them recyclable. It also prevents businesses from using the 15 worst toxic chemicals in packaging.

 The New York Heat bill has the power to stop utility companies from building out more gas infrastructure. Western New York’s utility provider, National Fuel, reportedly spent tens of thousands of dollars to block it, and the majority of Assembly members in National Fuel territory voted against it. 

“The Assembly was a body that championed our nation-leading landmark climate law [in 2019], and yet, ever since, they have been hamstringing the opportunity to pass policies so we can actually meet the goals set by the law and are thus holding us up,” said Liz Moran, New York policy advocate for the non-profit Earthjustice.

“With the incoming federal administration, we’re especially going to need the Assembly to stand up for their constituents and make sure they pass policies that cut energy bills, create good jobs and address the climate crisis,” Moran added.

But last year the Assembly did help the environmental community secure some major wins. Lawmakers passed legislation that will force polluters to pay for climate destruction and expand the state’s fracking ban to prohibit a new technique that uses carbon dioxide.

“I think credit has to be given for the expansion of the fracking ban and the Climate Superfund Act. The administration has been taking up the call to act,” said Raya Salter,  energy attorney and member of the New York State Climate Action Council.

Yet environmentalists warn that there is still work to be done. Salter says this year will be all about making sure the administration follows throughs with previous commitments like Cap-and-Invest, and new legislation to carry out the Climate Act.

“Advocates are going to have to stand up and push as hard as possible to get these other pieces to come through strongly,” Salter said.

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