NYers Cap Off Week of 10+ Gas Station Rallies Demanding Gov. Hochul Drop Her Costly Climate Law Rollback

As war in Iran pushes prices to all-time highs, groups in cities across NY urged Governor to stop delaying clean energy investments and focus on actually lowering our energy bills

ALBANY, NY (04/28/2026) (readMedia)-- Today, as gas prices hit record highs with no end in sight, lawmakers and advocates in Albany capped off a week of rallies at gas stations across the state to demand Governor Hochul drop her reckless bid to weaken our Climate Law and focus on actually lowering energy bills for New Yorkers. Watch a recording of the rally here.

For the last week, New Yorkers have rallied at gas stations in cities across the state to demand Governor Hochul stop fearmongering and actually lower energy bills instead of keeping us on expensive and volatile fossil fuels, including in:

New York's energy affordability crisis predates the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, and 1 in 4 households already could not afford their energy bills. Governor Hochul's proposed Climate Law rollbacks will do nothing to help the New Yorkers who are struggling to afford their energy bills right now - which the Governor herself has admitted.

Assemblymember Emily Gallagher said, "We are already living through the climate crisis, but it can and will get worse. This past weekend, news coverage emerged that we are closer to the collapse of the AMOC current than previously understood. The choices we make now matter tremendously. The situation is dire, but it also presents an opportunity--green jobs, cleaner air, more affordable energy, less volatile utility bills. We have the tools we need to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. We must implement our climate law now to take control of our future."

"I represent a district of working people, about half of which falls within the South Troy Flood Plain," said Councilmember Greg Campbell-Cohen (City of Troy, District 6). "My constituents face an unmanageable energy affordability crisis, increasingly frequent brownouts, rising insurance costs, and an economy that isn't inspiring much confidence that it is on the case. LARPing as a state that does its job by fiddling around with spreadsheet math does nothing to address my constituents' problems here in the real world. New York State needs to hold itself to its own standards by implementing the CLCPA as is."

"Everyone can see that oil and gas prices are skyrocketing and won't come back down anytime soon. But instead of working to get us off of expensive fossil fuels as quickly as possible, the Governor is trying to delay investments in more affordable renewable energy. The Governor should take action to actually help lower our energy bills by getting us off of oil and gas and investing in clean, affordable energy," Lisa Marshall, Director of Organizing and Advocacy, New Yorkers for Clean Power.

Last month, the Governor revealed her plan to gut the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) under the guise of "affordability." But instead of investing in renewable energy to actually lower high gas bills, the Governor is trying to force state lawmakers to accept changes to greenhouse gas accounting that create dangerous loopholes in the law and make it appear that emissions have declined when they have not. Her proposal would also delay requirements to implement regulations under the law until December 31, 2030, pushing climate obligations back years.

The Governor's push follows a series of contradictory and misleading excuses for why she is seeking to renege on New York's climate commitments, all while trying to portray herself as a climate champion. In recent weeks, she has pointed to a memo from her own administration that suggested implementing the CLCPA will lead to higher energy bills - a claim that lawmakers in her own party have rejected. She has also suggested that New Yorkers are overpaying for energy because of the CLCPA and that amending the law will save New Yorkers money in the short-term, which she later admitted was "false." She even cited the war in Iran as an excuse to roll back the CLCPA, claiming it would somehow "protect consumers" who are already suffering from high energy bills.

Thankfully, lawmakers - including leaders in her own party - are refusing to take the bait. State lawmakers including Senator Roxanne Persaud and Assemblymembers Anna Kelles, Emily Gallagher, Jo Anne Simon, and Diana Moreno are also rallying at gas stations to urge Hochul to stand up for the Climate Law, and earlier this month, over 30 state lawmakers rallied at the Capitol to urge the Governor to implement clean energy and energy efficiency solutions that actually lower New Yorkers' energy bills.

In March, more than two-thirds of Senate Democrats signed a letter pushing back on Hochul's claims and urging her not to "abandon our commitment to climate progress," and earlier this month, over 110 local elected officials sent their own letter warning that the Governor's effort would "would send the wrong signal to investors, delay critical community investments, and leave our residents exposed to the mounting costs of both fossil fuel dependence and climate inaction."

"Our message to Governor Hochul is clear-if you want lower gas and electric bills, then you should protect our climate law instead of trying to roll it back," said Patrick Robbins, Director of the Utility Customers Association. "We are grateful for the climate and affordability champions in Albany who are speaking out for the CLCPA."

"Our members across the Hudson Valley are wincing every time they have to fill up their tanks because of Trump's illegal war in Iran. Now, instead of accelerating our independence from volatile price spikes caused by fossil fuels, the Governor is trying to delay action to lower bills and climate emissions by strong-arming the legislature behind closed doors," said Xaver Kandler, Political Director at For the Many. "New Yorkers need a leader who fights against Trump instead of someone selling out to the same oil and gas companies."

"In this moment when the oil and gas billionaires are tightening their stranglehold on New York's economy and punishing working class families, we must transition away from this expensive and volatile fossil fuel system and toward an affordable, renewable energy economy. Unfortunately, Governor Hochul's behind-closed-door attempt to weaken our 2019 Climate Law commits us to the unaffordable system that we're in today. Now is the time for true climate action and renewable energy progress by fully implementing our state's 2019 Climate Law," said Ethan Gormley, Legislative Coordinator, Citizen Action of New York.

"Here in Buffalo, and in all parts of New York, families are being squeezed at every level-from the gas pump to their utility bills-and doubling down on fossil fuels will only deepen the crisis. Governor Kathy Hochul is moving to weaken the Climate Law at the exact moment we should be strengthening it. We need elected officials to stand with the people of Buffalo-not fossil fuel companies and utility interests that profit from our communities. Protecting the CLCPA and investing in affordable, renewable energy is the only path forward if working families are going to breathe and live with dignity," said Dr. Majadi Baruti, Climate Justice Organizer, PUSH Buffalo.

"These painful gas prices should be a wake-up call for Governor Hochul. Weakening our Climate Law will keep New Yorkers dependent on expensive fossil fuels, which will keep hurting families. Our best and only defense is investing in affordable, local renewable energy. Governor Hochul, stand up for New Yorkers and keep us moving in the safe direction: implement our Climate Law!" said Sasha Skon, member of Mothers Out Front.

"The Governor has dragged her feet on implementing the CLCPA and justifies her time wasting by talking about "affordability". It is obvious to us that free and endlessly available sun and wind provide the most affordable energy source of all. We are calling on the Governor to implement the CLCPA to stabilize energy bills and build independence through renewables," said Katie Chao, Co-Lead Organizer, Progressive Schenectady.

"The governor has said that we need more time to implement New York's Climate Law. The truth is we do not have time. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has determined that we have until 2030 to dramatically reduce fossil fuel consumption if we are to avoid a climate catastrophe. Delaying and weakening the Climate Law would be certain to cause even more damage to the climate and greater suffering, especially for those New Yorkers who can least afford to ameliorate the effects of climate change. For the sake of our neighbors, for the sake of our children and grandchildren, we must make every effort to implement the Climate Law, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and transition to renewable energy before it is too late," said Rev. John D. Paarlberg, Chair of the NY State Council of Churches Environmental Justice Working Group.

"Who else needs to hear that climate inaction is the most costly option? We're going to continue to see record gas prices because of states like New York that refuse to give up fossil fuels, and extreme heat and weather disaster events will keep costing New York billions each time, not to mention New Yorkers' lives. We have solutions, yet lack of political will is threatening to take us back decades, stripping New Yorkers of badly needed climate safeguards, funding and affordable energy options. We urge the Majority Leader and Speaker to stand up for New Yorkers, and stand firm against the Governor's thinly-veiled attempts to destroy our State's Climate Law," said Caroline Chen, Director of Environmental Justice at the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.

"As the EPA continues their rollbacks of air quality protections and standards, New York State needs to stand up for lung health and fight back. We must uplift our state's climate law for public health, and to bring down energy costs for everyday New Yorkers," said Max Micallef, NYS Advocacy Manager - Clean Air Initiatives, American Lung Association.