Let me begin with a fundamental reality that too often goes unspoken in Albany: New York State accounts for less than one-half of one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The entire United States represents less than twelve percent. That means no matter how ambitious our policies, no matter how much we spend, New York acting alone will not mitigate climate change.

The premise that we can independently reverse a global challenge is, quite simply, a false narrative. Real progress requires every state and every nation acting in unison, not one state imposing extraordinary costs on its residents while the rest of the world continues on a different course.

The Governor proudly notes that $88.7 billion has been invested in clean energy, making New York an example for the rest of the nation. And she is correct – but the ratepayers of this state understand that all too well, because they are the ones who have paid for it.

Any person who opens their utility bill each month can see the CLCPA’s impact firsthand. It is a burden, and until we acknowledge it as such, we will never have an honest conversation about what truly needs to change to make New York more affordable.

The Governor speaks of holding utilities accountable and reforming the rate hike process. I welcome accountability, but it must start with an inward look at the policies driving those costs in the first place. Just as your rising insurance premiums are largely the result of policies passed right here in New York State, your utility rates are, too.

Mandates requiring utilities to make massive grid infrastructure investments, electrification mandates of vehicles, buses, buildings, other costly directives imposed by the state for energy and climate mitigation spending are what drive your bills higher.

Before we pass the blame to the federal government or the utilities themselves, we need an honest self-examination of the policies Albany has enacted.

To suggest, as the Governor does, that the CLCPA is not the driver of high energy prices is a fundamentally flawed position. New York policy – and New York policy alone – has created the higher utility costs our residents are shouldering.

And that is precisely why the proposed amendments, while perhaps well-intentioned, are inadequate.

These changes may mitigate some future cost increases, but they do nothing to address the costs ratepayers are already paying today. Your current burden will not change under this proposal, and that is simply not good enough.

Postponing compliance deadlines may be a practical acknowledgment that the original timelines were unrealistic, but let’s be clear about what that accomplishes: it prevents future cost increases that were headed your way.

It does not roll back or reduce the costs you are already experiencing. Again, nothing in this proposal resolves the current financial burden on New York families and businesses.

The Governor herself acknowledges that New York and one other state are anomalies in how we measure emissions, yet in the same breath, she points to billions of dollars spent. That is the crux of the problem.

The reality is that most of these policies are designed to extract money from ratepayers and redirect it elsewhere. Nothing becomes affordable until we change the fundamental mechanism of that extraction.

Aligning our accounting methodology with international standards is a reasonable step, but it is window dressing if the underlying cost structure remains untouched.

In the end, the Governor’s statement is underwhelming and falls far short of truly making life more affordable for the ratepayers of New York. I have always believed in practical, commonsense solutions.

If we are serious about affordability, we need to do more than delay timelines and shift measurements. We need to fundamentally reconsider the policies that are extracting billions from the hardworking people of this state.

The people of the North Country and communities across New York deserve nothing less.