Friends -

I recently published an op-ed in the Gotham Gazette about the impacts of climate change, and the work that we can do in the New York State Senate to secure a more livable future for our state.

I was moved to write about this issue — along with my friend Victor Davila, a program manager and community organizer with The Point CDC — because the effects of climate change have been uniquely harmful to my constituents in the South Bronx, including Victor himself.

You see, a disproportionate amount of New York City’s trash — almost one-third — is processed in the South Bronx, a community largely made up of people of color and low-income families.

That trash — as well as the nearby industrial plants and corporations — emits pollutants that contribute to Bronx residents having some of the highest levels of asthma in our city, which contributed to high COVID death rates in the area.

Now, you may be asking where can we go from here, and how we can begin to do right by communities who have suffered under decades of discriminatory climate policy. I believe that passing the Climate and Community Investment Act is a good place to start.

The CCIA will raise revenue by fining corporations who emit pollutants into the atmosphere, and that money can be used to create good-paying, green jobs and transition our state to renewable energy sources. And of course, we will prioritize investing in the communities that have been the hardest hit by climate change.

I believe that it is possible for New York state to be a national pioneer on the issue of climate justice.

And I know that we have partners in this fight on the federal level. Just last week, Senator Ed Markey and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reintroduced the Green New Deal, a bold piece of legislation which can help save our country from the brink of disaster.

The catastrophic impacts of climate change are not an inevitability. A better future truly is possible, and as your New York state senator, I promise to be a champion for legislation that will prioritize the health of our planet and our most vulnerable communities, no matter what corporations have to say about that.

Thank you for reading. If you would like to read my full op-ed, you can click this link to do that. I promise to provide more updates soon.

All my best,

Alessandra Biaggi

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