The New York State Capitol Building in Albany.
For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
John Lindsay
john@moxiestrategies.com
Statement from the Building Decarbonization Coalition on New York Legislative One-House Budgets
ALBANY, N.Y. (March 10, 2026) — Allison Considine, New York Director for the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC), provided the following statement in response to the Legislature’s one-house budget proposals:
“We are grateful to our partners in the Senate and the Assembly for including the Sustainable Future Program in their one-house proposals, including funding for thermal energy network projects. These programs support family-sustaining union jobs across the state and accelerate our transition away from the price volatility and high costs of methane gas, while driving forward innovative decarbonization at state campuses.
We also celebrate the additional funding for the EmPower+ program, which will expand access to cleaner, energy-efficient homes for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers. The Senate’s investment in a new heat pump rebate program could help to address federal disinvestment in incentives for clean heating and cooling equipment and make it even more affordable for residential homeowners to upgrade and electrify their homes.
Each one-house proposal included small investments in the Green Affordable Pre-Electrification Fund. This should be expanded significantly to $200 million to close the gap for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers where health and safety hazards in the home serve as a barrier to participation in weatherization and electrification incentives.
The fastest way to address energy affordability is to reduce how much customers pay for wasted energy by investing in more efficient and healthier homes. We are hopeful these proposals are included in the final enacted budget.
Recent months have made clear just how volatile and costly it is to maintain our aging natural gas system. Any serious energy affordability agenda must include a strategic transition away from fossil fuels toward more efficient, cost-stable, and healthier building solutions. The Climate Act provides the roadmap to achieve this, and we urge the Governor and Legislature to stay the course on New York’s climate commitments.”
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ABOUT THE BUILDING DECARBONIZATION COALITION
The Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC) aligns critical stakeholders on a path to transform the nation’s buildings through clean energy, using policy, research, market development, and public engagement. The BDC and its members are charting the course to eliminate fossil fuels in buildings to improve people’s health, cut climate and air pollution, prioritize high-road jobs, and ensure that our communities are more resilient to the impacts of climate change. Learn more at www.buildingdecarb.org.