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Advocates say the hearings are an opportunity to pressure Gov. Hochul to finally implement the Cap-and-Invest program, which would require corporations that pollute above certain limits pay for their carbon emissions.
New York’s Department Of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will host a public hearing in Long Island City on Thursday to discuss the implementation of a long-awaited statewide Cap-and-Invest program.
The program would require corporations that pollute above certain limits to pay for their carbon emissions, and the proceeds would be invested in energy efficiency and building upgrades for residents.
Despite Gov. Kathy Hochul releasing an outline for the program two years ago, it’s yet to be fully fleshed out and implemented. The hearings are an opportunity to put pressure on the administration to finally get the ball rolling, advocates say.
Thursday’s hearing starts at 1 p.m. in the DEC’s headquarters in Long Island City; more information can be found here. Environmental advocates plan to hold a rally in front of Hunters Point Plaza before the main event kicks off.
This is the last of three events hosted in June to give the public space to weigh in on the program. Earlier hearings took place in Syracuse and Albany.
Funding from the Cap-and-Invest program has the potential to help 46 percent of New York households upgrade to a highly efficient heat pump by 2035, according to a report by the non-profit think tank Switchbox. The upgrade would deliver $1,022 in annual energy savings to the median-earning household.
The savings would come in handy as every utility company in the state has raised its electricity rates in recent years, and over 1.2 million New York families were two or more months behind on their energy bills in 2024, a report by the environmental group AGREE found.
Money generated through the program could also be invested in community based projects like building green affordable housing, rooftop solar, electric buses, and bike lanes.
“The governor has a tool that she’s been withholding that would force polluters to pay, reduce their pollution, and raise billions of dollars every year that would go to New Yorkers’ wallets, our communities, and climate action,” Eunice Ko, deputy director of NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, said at a June 4 hearing in Albany.
The push to implement Cap-and-Invest comes as the Trump administration is putting forth a series of proposals to cut funding for key programs that help low-income residents pay utility bills and switch to clean electric energy.
In April, the administration got rid of the entire federal staff that runs the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps households pay for utility bills in the winter and gives out free air conditioners in the summer. And in his proposal for the national budget last month, he suggested nixing the program all together.
Plus, Trump’s contentious Big Beautiful Bill Act, which contains several key aspects of the president’s legislative agenda, also includes provisions to rollback billions in clean energy investments for climate programs and energy tax credits.
“Governor Hochul must release all the cap-and-invest regulations if she is serious about preparing and protecting New York from the federal administration and climate collapse,” Ko said earlier this month.
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