LEVER TIME PREMIUM: How New York Passed A Landmark Climate Law

On this week’s bonus episode of Lever Time Premium, exclusively for The Lever’s supporting subscribers: Producer Frank Cappello and Lever Editorial Fellow Keerti Gopal sit down with organizer Brandon Tizol to discuss the four-year long campaign to pass the Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA) in New York state.

The landmark climate bill — which was recently passed as a part of New York state’s annual budget — is a huge win for climate activists and a big step toward realizing publicly-owned 100 percent renewable energy in the state, which has the third largest economy in the country.

The new initiative requires the New York Power Authority — the largest state-owned power organization in the country — to provide solely renewable energy by 2030 and transitions all state-owned and municipal properties to renewables by 2035. The bill also prioritizes union jobs, pay-rate protection, job development and apprenticeships, and hiring workers who have lost employment in non-renewable energy sectors.

Frank and Keerti speak with Brandon about how the law came to pass after four years of grassroots organizing, the roadblocks they hit along the way, and what’s next for the implementation of the BPRA.

Links:

• YOU LOVE TO SEE IT: New York’s Green New Deal (The Lever, 2023)
• New York Takes Big Step Toward Renewable Energy In ‘Historic’ Climate Win (The Guardian, 2023)
• Public Power NY

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