Syracuse, NY — Today, 153 New York organizations, institutions, coalitions, and grassroots groups sent a letter to Governor Hochul, calling on her to protect New York’s landmark climate law and keep false solutions like dangerous nuclear power out of the state. The letter was announced at a press conference today in the city of Syracuse (Onondaga land), where New York and Haudenosaunee citizens gathered to oppose nuclear energy — old and new — outside Governor Hochul’s pro-nuclear “Future Energy Economy Summit”. Photos will be available here.

Amidst a summer of climate disasters, from deadly flooding to extreme heat and tornadoes, Governor Hochul is considering ignoring legally mandated emission reductions goals. Rather than committing to the State’s clean energy transition, Hochul’s unacceptably pro-nuclear summit this week threatens to take the state in the wrong direction.

Food & Water Watch New York State Director Laura Shindell said:

“Our Governor is wining and dining dirty energy snake oil salesmen when she should be doubling down on clean, renewable energy buildout — New Yorkers are having none of it. Our climate future is at a crossroads, and Hochul is perilously close to taking a dangerous step in the wrong direction. Governor Hochul must fight for the climate law she flouts, starting with an absolute refusal to bring more dangerous nuclear reactors to New York.”

Like other false solutions, nuclear power has long been proven to be too toxic, too dangerous, too expensive, and too slow to build to be a climate solution. Instead of propping up the profits of nuclear corporations, groups and speakers called on Governor Hochul to reject false fixes, follow NYS climate law, fight for a livable future, and consult with the Onondaga Nation.

The letter states that: “We unequivocally oppose any new nuclear facilities in New York State… The history of the nuclear industry is full of unfulfilled promises and cost overruns. Instead of turning to nuclear energy, New York must follow through on its existing climate action plan to massively scale up energy efficiency technologies, new renewable generation, storage, and electrified public transit while creating family-sustaining jobs and protecting our most vulnerable communities who continue to bear the burden of an unjust energy system.”

“After considerable discussion and evaluation over several years, the Climate Action Council decided against any major role for new nuclear power plants in the energy future for NY State,” said Dr. Robert Howarth, Atkinson Professor of Ecology and Environmental Biology at Cornell University and member of the New York State Climate Action Council. “Nuclear power is simply too expensive and too slow to deploy, and the State’s needs are far better met by renewable energy and battery storage.”

“No one in New York wants people to suffer the horrible immediate toxicities of a nuclear accident,” said Dr. Kathleen Nolan, President of Physicians for Social Responsibility – New York. “And no one wants the tragic long term cancer and disease burden that invariably attends the construction, operations, and waste disposal of nuclear power generation. The only way such activities go forward is through ignorance or willful disregard of the known, real, and present dangers found throughout the life cycle of generating power through nuclear reactions. For example, if we cannot properly handle the toxic nuclear waste we have already generated in New York — and we cannot — then we cannot possibly justify creating more waste and releasing it into nearby communities, especially communities like the Onondaga Nation and other Indigenous Peoples that have wisely opposed reliance on nuclear energy.”

Jeanne Shenandoah, Onondaga Nation environmental advocate and Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force member, said: “The issue of nuclear energy is of the utmost importance for people to be aware of. Nuclear energy poses a danger to the future of all life wherever mining, reactor operations, transport, and dumping happen. We must always be thankful for the earth that we live on and for what Mother Earth gives to us; this means protecting Mother Earth and resisting nuclear energy expansion. The threat of nuclear energy requires all of us to exercise responsibility and protect our homes and communities.”

“The entire nuclear industry is an environmental justice disaster, particularly for Indigenous Peoples and Nations,” said Joe Heath, Onondaga Nation General Counsel and Veterans for Peace member. “Indigenous Peoples are excluded from this discussion of our energy future. From the mining, milling, and transportation of radioactive fuel to the transportation, storage and dumping of radioactive waste, every aspect of this industry kills and poisons Indigenous people. Nuclear energy — old and new — is not ‘green’, renewable, or zero emissions. Additionally, the three reactors on Onondaga land are 20 years beyond their safe operation dates and their toxic waste is crammed too tightly into cooling pools, emitted into the air and water, and transported by truck on I-81 through the center of the city of Syracuse and the Onondaga Nation’s currently-recognized territory despite the Nation’s opposition.”

“Contrary to Governor Hochul, advances in climate science since the CLPCA passed show that New York must move much faster to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and develop clean renewable energy. Hochul needs to stop listening to huckster industrial salesmen peddling expensive and false climate solutions like nuclear, hydrogen, and carbon capture. New York needs to declare a climate emergency to mobilize all of the state’s resources to quickly build a clean energy future that is publicly owned and democratically controlled,” said Mark Dunlea of PAUSE and the Green Education and Legal Fund. 

“When New York passed our nation-leading climate law in 2019, we made a promise to protect each other and our future,” said Avni Pravin, Deputy Director, Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE). “Governor Hochul must keep that promise by committing to safe, proven, and scalable renewable technologies like wind and solar–not break it by forcing New Yorkers to fund nuclear corporations who will only waste our time, waste our money, and create toxic waste that threatens our health.”

“Governor Hochul’s energy summit is a clear example of how environmental justice communities and groups are being sidelined in favor of appeasing industries that peddle dangerous and costly false solutions like nuclear power,” said Bob Cohen, Policy Director for Citizen Action of New York. “Instead of engaging with the communities most affected by climate change, this summit prioritizes the interests of industries that drain New Yorkers’ wallets and jeopardize public health and the environment. The future of New York is in real renewable energy solutions like wind, solar, and geothermal that uplift our communities. Governor Hochul needs to stop wasting time with false solutions and double down on her obligation to meet the targets in the state’s Climate Act.”

“Let this gathering be one of commitment to kindness and to action, for it is our duty to protect the water, the air and the earth as we are guardians for the water, the air and the earth and as we are relatives for all who dwell within — the fish, birds, bees, animals and people,” says Chief Dwaine Perry of the Ramapo, Munsee, Lunaape Nation. “Without clean renewable energy and with the continuous nuclear pollution of the earth, there will be nothing left to be guardians of. A commitment without action is simply an homage to oppression. We ask Governor Hochul to keep nuclear energy out of NY State’s Energy Plan.”

“We urge Governor Hochul to reaffirm her commitment to the clean energy goals established by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and focus on solutions for achieving these goals rather than reasons for delaying them. Nuclear power is not a viable path for meeting those goals,” said Kate Bartholomew, Chair, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter. “The nuclear energy industry has left New York state with a series of financial disasters. It is dangerous and foolish for the current administration to pursue a new generation of costly nuclear power plants, and the thousands of tons of radioactive waste that come with them – when there is a clear pathway forward for the siting and building of offshore wind, land-based wind, solar generation, energy efficiency and battery storage efforts.”

“New York’s status as a leader in the clean energy transition is at a critical crossroads,” said Adam Flint, Director of Clean energy Programs at the Network for a Sustainable Tomorrow. “New York’s Climate law sets ambitious and appropriate objectives, but the Governor and the legislature to date have failed to appropriate the necessary funds, and with today’s event, the Governor is deviating onto a dangerous course of false solutions. Nuclear power is a waste — of money, time, and literally, as any waste generated at a nuclear facility in the US will remain a danger on-site for millions of years. We are calling on Governor Hochul to reject nuclear power and fund proven, clean and effective technologies at a level commensurate with the ambition of New York’s climate goals. This is the only legitimate way that the Governor can continue to lay claim to leading on climate on the national and international stage.”