Nearly 100 Faith Leaders Call on Governor Hochul To Support Climate Law As She Pushes To Gut Landmark Law

ALBANY, NY (04/23/2026) (readMedia)-- Yesterday, nearly 100 faith leaders and clergy members from across New York state sent a letter to Governor Hochul urging her to uphold the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and warning against her proposal to weaken the law. The letter comes as New Yorkers - including state and local lawmakers, advocates, and everyday families - continue to rally against the Governor's attempt to gut climate regulations in the state budget under the guise of "affordability."

Read the full letter from faith leaders here.

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.

In the letter, the leaders - who represent a broad range of religions and faiths - urge the Governor to recognize the climate emergency and highlight that dismantling the CLCPA would disproportionately impact communities most in need of protection, writing that her proposal would "undermine a law that our communities are counting on being both implemented and funded."

The signatories continue that upholding the Climate Law is "an economic issue, a public health issue, a justice issue, but most of all, it's a moral issue" and that any attempt to weaken it is "a failure of moral imagination and a lack of political will." Read the full letter here.

"85 degree days in April. A war being fought over oil in Iran. Skyrocketing prices. Now is the time for a real leader to step up and do the right thing on climate. We need to ramp up our transition to renewable energy, not delay it. We need clean air, green jobs, and healthy communities, not fracked gas and nuclear power plants. As a person of faith, I implore Gov. Hochul to stop making dirty deals that benefit billionaires and, instead, fight for all New Yorkers," said Rev. Chelsea MacMillan, GreenFaith.

"We call on Governor Hochul to have vision and resolve, and to consider both the present and the future in making decisions about energy solutions. Delaying the implementation of the CLCPA will make New York less affordable, less healthy and, simply put, unable to thrive l'dor v'dor – from generation to generation. This is the moment to recommit to renewable energy that will power our state for decades, result in lower pollution and emissions, safeguard frontline communities, and enable us to heat, cool, and light homes, schools, businesses, and houses of worship," said Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, Founder and CEO, Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action.

Background

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, the Governor has relied on fossil fuel messaging and said that 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.

The faith leaders are the latest in a growing chorus of lawmakers, advocates and everyday people pushing back against her climate rollback effort. 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 just last week, 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." Advocates are taking action, too: this week, groups across the state are rallying at gas stations to demand the Governor embrace affordable, clean energy while advocates in Albany were arrested for demanding the Governor do more to lower New Yorkers' energy bills instead of siding with fossil fuel interests.