By Daniel Afanasyev
On Wednesday, Nov. 20, the Brooklyn College chapter of TREEage, alongside other CUNY students and members from the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), took part in a New York Power Authority (NYPA) hearing at John Jay College to demand greater state-led initiatives aimed at climate change and decarbonization.
TREEage, according to its mission statement, is a climate advocacy organization led by high school and college students across New York City pushing for a more climate-conscious public policy for the city. The NYPA is New York’s power utility and operator of several power generating plants and facilities across New York state, and according to its mission statement is “leading the transition to a carbon-free, economically vibrant New York.” The goal for testifying at the hearing was to hold city leaders accountable for the initiatives that have not met NYC’s goals for 2030.
“Each year, the NYPA reviews if we’re on track for 70% renewable energy by 2030, and 100% by 2040, yet NYPA’s CEO Justin Driscoll–appointed by Governor Hochul–only plans to build 3.5 gigawatts of new renewable, for below the needed 15 gigawatts,” TREEage said in a statement on its Instagram account.
For those that testified at the hearing, it was of the utmost importance to advocate for meeting the decarbonization goals, highlighting the personal effects that the measures have on the CUNY community.
“I spoke about why decarbonizing CUNY is personal for me. I’m the product of a first-generation CUNY graduate. All my siblings graduated from CUNY, as did I,” Idrees Ilahi, CUNY director for TREEage and a Brooklyn College alum, told The Vanguard. “I want to fight for a future where hundreds of thousands of students, faculty, and staff across 20 campuses and 300 buildings can learn and work in environments that are cleaner and healthier.”
The Green New Deal, put forth by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey in 2019, plays a central role in TREEage’s climate campaign, which calls for drastic decarbonization, reduction in pollution, high-quality healthcare for all, and a transportation systems overhaul, among other things. Like the Green New Deal, TREEage pairs climate change with economy-related ideas in their advocacy efforts, seeing that the two have been increasingly interrelated, as discussed by NPR.
“By investing in public renewables at CUNY, we can move closer to NY State’s mandated climate goals, pave the way for renewable projects across the state, and with an incoming Trump presidency putting federal support for climate projects in jeopardy, set an example for other states to follow,” Ilahi said.
At Wednesday’s hearing, TREEage members spoke about the vital work that energy providers, including the NYPA, are yet to perform to meet the required levels of renewable energy production, and the impact that it continues to have on communities and places of higher education across the city.
“The reason TREEage wanted to get students involved in testifying is so they can directly discuss the issues they are facing as students and NYC residents,” Leila M. Tazi, TREEage campus organizer and club president of BC’s chapter, told The Vanguard. “It is really important to mobilize youth in politics to amplify their voice and the voices of those around them.”
Students interested in learning more about TREEage can visit their Instagram, @bc_treeage_club