Weekly Column from Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay
There does not seem to be any limit to how far New York’s left wing will go in the name of climate change extremism. Since the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) was passed in 2019, Albany Democrats have been racing to completely overhaul the state’s energy grid with little consideration given to the real-world impacts on New Yorkers.
In a “shoot-ready-aim” approach to environmental policy, they have placed enormous restrictions on how families will be able to heat their homes, banned the use of gas stoves and appliances in new construction, and now the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has proposed banning coal-and-wood-fired ovens used in some of the city’s most successful restaurants – most notably their historic pizza parlors.
The entire impetus for this rushed and radical climate agenda is to reduce carbon emissions – a noble goal – however, it ignores the reality that New York is only responsible for 3% of emissions here in the U.S. and 0.4% of emissions globally. Considering one city official cited by the New York Post article covering the plan estimates the most recent oven ban would impact fewer than 100 restaurants, we are talking about fractions of fractions of emissions. The costs to these businesses, which will be forced to completely reinvent their business model and install and maintain expensive new equipment, will be far more significant.
What Democrats are doing to New York’s power grid amounts to tearing down a bridge before a new one is built. It makes sense to diversify our energy portfolio and bring renewable sources online over time. But unilaterally eliminating traditional, reliable and proven energy sources is a dangerous and costly decision.
Not surprisingly, the issue of “cost” is becoming more of a concern as renewable projects start to advance. It is being reported that a trade group representing renewable energy developers and the builders of a clean-energy transmission line have asked for more money from state grants to complete their work. Citing the rising costs associated with inflation, the Alliance for Clean Energy NY says that a number of “green” projects will not be completed without more up-front money from the state. Anyone who’s seen their utility bill rise in the past year knows it’s the consumer who ends up paying the bill when energy projects get more expensive.
New York’s power grid calls for a diverse portfolio that guarantees reliable, affordable energy. The path we are on now does not do that, and policies like the one proposed in New York City do much more harm than good. Elected officials have a responsibility to develop solutions to ensure a healthy environment and a robust economy.
Those two considerations are not mutually exclusive, despite what the New York progressives would have you believe. A proposed ban on coal-and-wood-fired stoves is nothing more than a misguided gimmick that has no place in our state.
If you have any questions or comments on this or any other state issue, or if you would like to be added to my mailing list or receive my newsletter, please contact my office. My office can be reached by mail at 19 Canalview Mall, Fulton, NY 13069 and by email at [email protected]. You may also find me, Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay, on Facebook or on Twitter at @WillABarclay.
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Funny stuff. Will Barclay is a member of the world’s leading climate crisis denial political party. Will Barclay and the fascist Republican Party support the corporate project to make Earth uninhabitable for human beings … so rich people and corporate polluters can have more money … before the end of humanity. It’s “radical” and “left-wing” to want to sustain Earth’s habitability for future generations of human beings … said the sober-minded right-wing whose policy priorities sacrifice the human species on the altar of corporate profits and billionaire accumulation.