Decarbonize CUNY!

About the Working Group

The Environmental Justice Working Group (EJWG) engages PSC members in the fight for environmental justice. We work with faculty, staff and students to bring environmental justice to our campuses and communities and to build awareness and action toward that effort. To advance legislation and other policy changes, we work in broad coalitions on City, State and Federal levels, help to expand labor-climate alliances and draft resolutions that are consistently supported by our Delegate Assembly and Executive Council. We helped to initiate the Climate and Environmental Justice Caucus in the American Federation of Teachers and have advanced support for public sector decarbonization in the AFT.

We have already achieved many wins: divestment of the NYC Teachers Retirement Fund and NY State Common Retirement Fund from fossil fuel holdings; the successful passage of the NYC Dirty Buildings Bill in 2019 (with Align-Climate Works for All); the NY State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act in 2019 (with NY Renews); and the Build Public Renewables Act in 2023 (with Public Power NY). We supported the Green Schools campaign to decarbonize public schools and Congestion Pricing to reduce emissions in Manhattan. We participate in conferences and mobilizations for environmental issues, and hold monthly meetings with speakers and discussion on environmental justice topics.

We are now turning our attention to decreasing carbon emissions in the 300+ large buildings on the 20 campuses of CUNY. With NYSUT as our state-wide partner in the Public Power NY coalition, the NY State legislature passed the Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA) which dramatically expands our public power authority to develop renewable energy for public buildings. We are now in the implementation stage of the BPRA; continued pressure on the governor to do so is needed and the federal Inflation Reduction Act gives us further support and funding to decarbonize. Stepping up public power is essential as none of the targets NYS has set for itself to transition off fossil fuels can occur based on the current efforts and plans of private utilities.

Rally for Public Renewables

PSC EJWG Co-Chair Nancy Romer Addresses the Rally (Credit Michael Paulson)

In November 2024, the EJWG helped lead a Public Power NY coalition-wide rally and day of testimony at John Jay College in Manhattan. We joined hundreds of other New Yorkers in demanding a New York Power Authority (NYPA) plan that meets our obligations under the CLCPA and the BPRA, and meets the moment of urgent need in the city, state, and country. We rallied for 15GW of public renewables, instead of the measly 3.5GW in the NYPA draft plan, and we rallied for CUNY to be a prime site of decarbonization, both through the shutdown of toxic peaker plants that poison our communities, and through the siting of new public renewable projects on our campuses. The sizable PSC turnout and participation in the day’s events was made possible by our “Decarbonize CUNY” town hall series over the course of the fall, also a collaboration with Public Power NY.

Decarbonize CUNY Town Halls

The Environmental Justice Working Group (EJWG) of the Professional Staff Congress-CUNY is fighting to Decarbonize CUNY and improve the health and safety of our campuses, the communities surrounding our campuses, and the planet. Over the course of fall 2024, the EJWG partnered with Public Power New York to host a series of ten town halls advocating for a clean energy transformation at CUNY.

Decarbonize CUNY Town Hall (credit Paul Frangipane)

New York State passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) in 2019, which set strict goals for decarbonizing NY State, goals that we are failing to reach. The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has the power, under the Build Public Renewables Act included in the 2023 state budget, to support and accelerate the transformation by rapidly building public, renewable energy sources and updating CUNY facilities. The federal Inflation Reduction Act can fund half the cost.

The series of town halls was met with an outpouring of support from student groups, PSC members, and local and state elected officials. City Comptroller Brad Lander spoke at two of the events. State Assembly Member Robert Carroll, sponsor of the Build Public Renewables Act, spoke at the Graduate Center Town Hall. And State Senator John Liu, Assembly Members Alex Bores, Emily Gallagher, and Amanda Septimo, and NYC Council Member Julie Won were also among the speakers at town halls throughout the five boroughs.

CUNY’s 300 publicly owned buildings are overwhelmingly reliant on fossil fuels. Their average age is more than 50 years old; some are over 100 years old. Facilities have inefficient windows, outdated light bulbs, and leaking roofs. These buildings need to be decarbonized and brought up-to-date, just like the energy system they rely on needs to be made public and sustainable.

Learn more about the Decarbonize CUNY Town Hall series in this radio interview featuring EJWG co-chair Nancy Romer:

Town Halls Included:

Graduate Center, September 5th
LaGuardia Community College, September 11th
City Tech, September 12th
John Jay College, September 17th (video link)
Hunter College, September 24th (video link)
College of Staten Island, September 24th (video link)
Queens College, September 25th
City College, September 26th (video link)
Hostos Community College, September 26th
Bronx Community College, November 25th (video link)

The Indypendent · Eco-Socialists Call on CUNY, Gov. Hochul to Embrace Potential of NY's Build Public Renewables Act

Quotes in support

“At CUNY, we know firsthand what outdated infrastructure looks like. We see it in our classrooms, labs, workspaces, and elevators. And CUNY’s crumbling facilities are inseparable from the climate crisis! CUNY buildings are some of the least energy-efficient in New York City,” said PSC President James Davis. “The disinvestment that is short-changing our members is also short-changing future generations. We need to decarbonize CUNY – both by updating and improving our facilities, and by transforming the energy system on which they rely.”

Ashley Dawson addresses the Grad Center Town Hall on September 5th, along with Assembly Member Robert Carroll, PPNY’s Michael Paulson, and EJWG organzier Nic Nicoludis (PSC-CUNY)

“We are the people’s university. And we have public power here, we get our power from NYPA. But we need to push NYPA to forge forward, and that’s what this meeting is about…. We’re never going to get the politicians to shut down all of that toxic infrastructure and to stop making sacrifice zones, unless we win the struggle for public, democratic power and a just transition. And I think we here [at CUNY] are incredibly fortunate to be at the forefront of that, really at the center of that struggle in this country,” said Ashley Dawson distinguished professor of English at the CUNY Graduate Center and the founder of of the Climate Action Lab at CUNY

“If we’re going to meet our goals, we need public ownership of clean energy, and the Build Public Renewables Act is a great start. And CUNY campuses are so big, they can be a home for that!,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. “We want CUNY to be a place for solar farms, and for other forms of renewable energy that you can only do with a big footprint. You’ve got a partner in the New York City Comptroller’s office; let’s do everything we can to decarbonize CUNY, to decarbonize NYC, and to build the green future that we all deserve.”

“The New York Power Authority has to, by law, put out a document this January that says what it’s going to do to help New York [reach net zero emissions]…. The fact of the matter is, the BPRA, the law of the state of New York, now says NYPA has to act. And NYPA has the ability to act. They have a AA bond rating, they can go to the capital markets and get funding, because of the Inflation Reduction Act they can receive federal dollars as well, and they are tax-exempt. They are better positioned to go off and build wind and solar projects than basically any other entity in the country,” said Assembly Member Robert Carroll.

“CUNY is a world class educational system that lifts up working class New Yorkers. But for too long, it has been forced to carry out its essential mission in crumbling, polluting facilities. With federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and new state policy tools like the Build Public Renewables Act, we have the opportunity to create the dignified, sustainable CUNY that our communities deserve. We must seize it. I’m proud to join the Professional Staff Congress and Public Power NY in their push to Decarbonize CUNY,” said Assembly Member Emily Gallagher.

“Our twin goals of decarbonizing CUNY buildings and ensuring that NYPA builds renewable energy are linked, as both institutions have set laudable goals but are not putting in the money and effort that it will take to make them come true. Our students, faculty, staff, and neighbors deserve clean air and non-polluting CUNY buildings and the Build Public Renewables Act allows New York State to outcompete fossil fuel power plants, but it will take all of our voices to make sure that our appointed and elected officials follow through on these commitments!”, said Hunter College High School science teacher Ross Pinkerton.

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