BCW Joins Group in Statewide Campaign Focused on Transition to Clean Energy

The BCW has joined with business groups throughout the state in the first of several state-wide information campaigns launched by the Business Council of New York State to educate New York voters on the impacts of significant legislation approved by state lawmakers. The first campaign will focus on the importance of a credible, reliable and cost-efficient transition to clean energy and renewals which has been a top priority of the BCW for the last five years.

As we move to implement the “Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act,” or CLCPA, policy decisions are being made that could have significant unintended consequences, including:

• Higher energy prices whose impacts would ripple through the state’s economy;
• Reduced reliability of the state’s energy grid that would affect homes, institutions, and businesses; and
• Adverse impacts on the state’s overall economic climate that may discourage new investments and job growth.

“New York is at a crossroads. We are a worldwide leader in environmental initiatives and green energy policies, and we must and will continue to be the leader. But, we must also look at the policies and determine what is feasible, what is affordable, and what is best for the future of the State. That is what this campaign is all about, and this will be a campaign with supporters from across the spectrum from almost every industry from communities across the state. Let’s be clear: it is essential to push a green economy. It is also essential to make sure we can reach our environmental and clean energy goals without severely damaging New York’s families and businesses as well as jeopardizing the reliability of New York’s energy infrastructure,” said Heather Mulligan, President & CEO, The Business Council of New York State.

“The Business Council of Westchester has been laser focused over the last five years on addressing Westchester county’s future energy landscape. This new campaign is part of the BCW’s ongoing efforts to help create awareness about the CLCPA’s long-term ramifications as well as cost and reliability issues that will affect the business community. The BCW has actively followed the push to impose hard deadlines on the cutoff of fossil fuel solutions to meet the mandates of the CLCPA plan. We have carefully assessed the impacts both economic and personal it will have on every aspect of life in New York. No business sector will be unaffected if fossil fuels are prematurely banned. The BCW remains deeply concerned about the unintended, but inevitable consequences of setting these self-imposed deadlines,” said BCW Executive Vice President and COO John Ravitz. He noted that New York is way behind schedule in building the renewable energy infrastructure that must be created to achieve the goals that we support.

“We also urge the governor and the state legislature to begin to have honest conversations with all stakeholders statewide on how we can achieve the goals to ensure that New York has a strong and reliable energy plan in place. Those conversations must also include transition plans that include continuing to use natural gas to support the energy system until the renewable energy infrastructure is in place, Ravitz said adding, “As we look to recruit and retain businesses to Westchester County and New York State we must be able to demonstrate that the state has a solid energy platform that will not cause reliability and costs issues.”