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BRONX TIMES REPORTER,12 SEPT. 17-23, 2021
BY JULIE TIGHE AND JEFF VOCKRODT
This summer New York City has
experienced severe fl ooding events,
devastating and endangering communities,
compromising our infrastructure,
and reinforcing the severity of
the climate crisis. The fl ooding from
Tropical Storm Elsa washed out several
subway stations and local highways,
stopping New Yorkers in their
tracks. And we’re not alone. Across
the country, wildfi res have been so severe
that the ash caused the sun and
moon to appear red here in NYC.
These major fl ooding and severe
weather events reinforce not only the
increasing intensity of climate change,
but also how our aging infrastructure
is unprepared to deal with these disasters.
As global temperatures continue
to rise at alarming rates, this
warming makes weather events more
frequent and intense, which causes
devastating impacts to our outdated
infrastructure. To effectively address
the growing climate crisis and jumpstart
the move to a clean energy economy,
we must implement ambitious
policies to tackle climate change and
create union jobs.
We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity
to invest in our future. Congress
is working on both a bipartisan
$1 trillion infrastructure package and
an even bolder and more historic $3.5
trillion investment in line with President
Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.
The $3.5 trillion climate infrastructure
package will build more climateresilient
infrastructure, support the
green economy, and create good-paying
union jobs right here in New York.
It achieves this by establishing a clean
energy standard to get us to 100%
clean electricity by 2035, investing in
our ports to jumpstart offshore wind
development, expanding clean transportation,
and supporting the manufacturing
jobs that come with these
green technologies all while prioritizing
climate justice.
The billions proposed to repair
transportation infrastructure, including
funding for the Gateway program
and mass transit, can create local jobs
and help our state economy grow. Investments
in manufacturing and clean
energy can help revitalize New York’s
manufacturing sector, which employs
about 4.5% of the state’s workforce,
and create good union jobs in New
York’s clean-energy sector, a growing
industry for our state.
Investments in climate infrastructure
can accomplish several goals
at once. For example, by retrofi tting
school buildings, which must remain
a priority in federal infrastructure investments,
we can have a real impact
on emissions, make schools healthier
and safer, create good union jobs, and
save schools millions. In New York
City alone, where we are advocating
for Carbon Free and Healthy Schools,
we can have an impact equivalent to
planting 400,000 trees, address longstanding
facilities issues in school
buildings, create thousands of union
jobs, and save schools $70 million every
year on energy costs.
Critically, climate justice must remain
central to the plan, including investments
to improve climate-related
housing and health outcomes for lowincome
and vulnerable populations,
such as greater access to clean drinking
water, lead remediation in housing,
pollution reductions, and retrofi tting
public housing to make it energy
effi cient. To build a clean-energy future
that works for all New Yorkers,
we must prioritize communities that
have historically been left behind and
overburdened by pollution.
We thank Rep. Jeffries for being a
climate champion and pushing these
critical elements of the Build Back Better
agenda forward. Now is the time to
make sure these crucial infrastructure
investments get across the fi nish
line. Now is the time to rebuild our
economy and create a clean-energy future.
We can’t wait until the next Superstorm
devastates our communities.
We must act now to combat climate
change, invest in resilient communities,
and create good-paying jobs for
New Yorkers.
Julie Tighe is the president of the
New York League of Conservation Voters.
Jeff Vockrodt is executive director of
Climate Jobs NY.
A large puddle blocks a piece of the Shore
Road Promenade in Bay Ridge on Thursday,
Sept. 2, 2021, a day after the remnants of
Hurricane Ida bashed the city with heavy
rainfall. Photo Paul Frangipane
We need the Build Back Better
agenda to combat climate change
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