We need the Build Back Better agenda to combat
climate change and bring jobs to New York
By Julie Tighe and Jeff
Vockrodt
This summer New York City
has experienced severe flooding
events, devastating and
endangering communities,
compromising our infrastructure,
and reinforcing the severity
of the climate crisis. The
flooding from Tropical Storm
Ida washed out several subway
stations and local highways,
stopping New Yorkers in their
tracks. And we’re not alone.
Across the country, wildfires
have been so severe that the
ash caused the sun and moon
to appear red here in NYC.
These major flooding 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impacts to our outdated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
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 by Paul Frangipane
Back Better agenda.
The $3.5 trillion climate
infrastructure package will
build more climate-resilient
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,
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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 retrofitting 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 long-standing 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
low-income and vulnerable
populations, such as greater
access to clean drinking water,
lead remediation in housing,
pollution reductions, and retrofitting
public housing to
make it energy efficient. 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 finish
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.
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