Editor, OBSERVER:

“Winter Festival still scheduled despite warmer temps” in the Dunkirk OBSERVER last month reveals community resilience in the face of climate disruption.

Nonetheless, New York must act more swiftly to address climate change by meeting the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. In this legislative session, we must pass the NY HEAT Act and the All-Electric Buildings Act. The NY HEAT Act is meant to eliminate subsidies for new gas hookups and enable neighborhood scale building decarbonization by eliminating the “obligation to serve” gas infrastructure.

The All Electric Buildings Act bill requires new buildings to be constructed without fossil fuel combustion systems or appliances.

Building codes will be modernized to require new buildings to be all-electric and highly efficient, starting in 2024 for buildings under seven stories and by 2027 for larger buildings. By transitioning to electricity we can save energy, protect public health by improving both indoor and outdoor air quality, and meet our climate goals by reducing emissions from the buildings sector, New York’s largest source of emissions.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget supports the act. Now she must signal support for the NY HEAT Act. And Carl Heastie and Andrea Stewart Cousins should include it in the one-house budget.

ELEANOR WILSON,

Fredonia