by Jay Wu Passing bills isn’t the only way to influence state priorities. Every year, New York State passes a budget that establishes what government activities will be funded, and where that money will come from. Substantive policy proposals are often included in the annual budget as a way to circumvent the more deliberative legislative process. The formal cycle begins with the governor-appointed Budget Director issues a “call letter” to agency heads to communicate priorities and constraints. Throughout the fall, each agency assemble and discuss their program package. By early December, they complete their preliminary recommendations and present them to …

by Jay Wu For the uninitiated, New York State’s processes can be hard to follow. However, state policies can have substantial consequences for climate action. With candidates already beginning to announce plans to run for 2022 State Assembly and Senate seats, let’s take a quick dive at how the New York State legislature works. New York has a bicameral legislature, meaning that it is split into two houses—the Assembly and Senate. Today the Assembly has 150 members and the Senate has 63, but these numbers will likely change after this year’s redistricting process. Each house has a leader, titled the …

By Jay Wu Developing countries suffering the brunt of COVID-19’s economic impact have scant resources to confront climate change. We must call on the IMF and World Bank to provide Debt Relief for a Just and Green Recovery. The pandemic ravaged low-income nations’ economies, erasing the equivalent of 255 million full-time jobs in 2020 and setting back economic growth by 4.9% compared to pre-pandemic projections. For populations that won’t achieve meaningful vaccine access until 2023, waves of COVID strains will continue to stymie economic activity, exacerbating the already high levels of debt service. In 2021, average debt is expected to …

by Jay Wu This November, the COP26 summit will bring together 30,000 delegates from 197 nations and territories to collaborate on carbon emissions reductions plans. Since 1995, the Conference of Parties has met annually to monitor and review the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The conference not only includes ‘blue zone’ events for the climate experts, campaigners, policy makers and world leaders appointed to represent their nations, but also ‘green zone’ side events where civil society actors discuss social equality and reflect the ‘blue zone’ proceedings.  The upcoming COP26 summit will be critical for collaborating …

by Jay Wu On August 21st, 2021, barely a week after New York City experienced record-setting rainfall from Hurricane Henri, that record was shattered by remnants from Hurricane Ida. The damage was devastating, killing at least 27 people in New Jersey and 16 in New York City. Immediately after the hurricane, New Yorkers responded to the hurricane by both calling on their electeds for infrastructure investment and hitting the streets to provide care, clothing, foods, and help cleaning debris.  Protestors using life vests to depict Hurricane Ida’s casualties, from Sunrise NYC’s Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/sunrisemvmtnyc I’ve begun meeting with local community …