Schumer Backs Affordable Clean Energy Push, as Hochul Doubles Down on Costly, Climate-Killing Fracked Gas

Citing rising energy prices, Schumer commits to renewables as part of an affordability agenda

NEW YORK, NY (03/27/2026) (readMedia)-- This week, New York Senator Chuck Schumer promised to embrace renewable energy by investing in critical tax credits:

Schumer stated unequivocally: "We have to just build more clean energy... Trump's attacks on clean energy, and the price spikes it has caused for American families, is a unique opportunity to expand our movement."

Schumer continued: "We can bring new voters and allies into the fight for a cleaner environment by showing how clean energy is affordable energy."

The move comes as New York's own governor, Kathy Hochul, tries to ram through an unaffordability agenda into the state budget, due April 1, by weakening the climate law amidst surging gas prices.

"As energy prices continue to skyrocket, New York remains committed to more renewable energy - not less. With one in four New Yorkers already behind on their energy bills, Governor Hochul should follow Senator Schumer's lead and stop trying to sneak a secret deal into the budget to stick working families with the bill for her own failure to meet our legal goals to move off volatile costly fossil fuels," said Laura Shindell, New York State Director at Food & Water Watch.

In recent weeks, Governor Hochul has rolled out a series of half-baked and contradictory excuses for why she is seeking to renege on New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), which she previously championed, including:

  • Implying that New Yorkers have been 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,": "The false narrative is that I'm telling people their utility rates are higher because of the CLCPA. That would be a stupid thing to say, because it's not in effect yet."
  • Using Trump's attack on Iran as an excuse, arguing that rolling back the CLCPA will "protect consumers" who are already suffering from higher energy bills.
  • Stating that enacting the CLCPA will lead to higher energy bills by citing a memo from her own administration, which New York Focus said "offers limited new data" while "present[ing] a scenario that neither the Hochul administration nor Democrats in the legislature have entertained in recent years: one where New York relies almost entirely on a carbon price to meet the 2030 emissions target on time." Advocates and lawmakers in her own party have undermined Hochul's claims and highlighted that rolling back the CLCPA and relying on fossil fuels will only drive energy prices higher.