Opinion: Albany’s Climate Inaction

“New Yorkers have proved they want climate justice, and any official who ignores us has no business being in public office.” State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. (Flickr/New York State Assembly Majority) It is no secret that, on the federal level, 2025 has been a disastrous year for climate legislation. President Donald Trump’s re-entrance into the White House came with the demolition of key climate legislation, the promise of new fossil fuel infrastructure, and a practically complete destruction of the Environmental Protection Agency.  But state legislation is just as essential in combating the climate crisis as federal legislation, and in the wake of a terrifying and incompetent administration in Washington, New Yorkers from across the state have united to demand that our leaders rise to the occasion and continue pushing climate justice forward. (function(d,u,ac){var s=d.createElement('script');s.type='text/javascript';s.src='https://a.omappapi.com/app/js/api.min.js';s.async=true;s.dataset.user=u;s.dataset.campaign=ac;d.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(s);})(document,54625,'u4kmqsczew4vunxutxmd'); However, last month marked a tragic end to a legislative session ruled by climate inaction, incompetence, and cowardice, orchestrated primarily by New York State Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie.  The Package Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, a bill that would tax companies for excess packaging and require them to reduce their overall packaging by 30 percent over the next 12 years, received unprecedented public support this year, being the most lobbied piece of legislation in March and April.However, in an obscene act of pandering to giant corporations such as Coca Cola, which publicly opposed the bill, Mr. Heastie refused to even bring it to a vote. The Assembly receives hundreds of bills each session and so, out of necessity, only brings to a vote the ones that seem like they will pass. However, the huge show of support for the Package Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, which had 80 co-sponders, more than half of the entire Assembly (and assuming they all vote yes, enough to pass the bill) should qualify it for a vote. In response to the outrage that followed, Mr. Heastie declared that, “Contrary to popular belief, I am the most accurate counter of votes.” The speaker has a history of opposition against climate legislation, having in the past prevented other popular bills such as the New York HEAT Act from being passed.  For decades New Yorkers from all across the state have demanded our government take immediate and swift action to combat the climate crisis. We have demanded it through enormous marches, thousands of people strong, through forming hundreds of activist groups and coalitions, and through lobbying non-stop in Albany. The apathy and, in some cases, outright condescension that our state’s leaders have given in response is nothing short of outrageous.  We must never forget that, above all else, politicians are public servants. It is their job to enact the will of their citizens. New Yorkers have proved they want climate justice, and any official who ignores us has no business being in public office. Asher Cohen is a recent high school graduate and a member of 350 Brooklyn, a local environmental organization. The post Opinion: Albany’s Climate Inaction appeared first on City Limits.