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 residents, including people of Haudenosaunee descent, gathered to oppose nuclear energy - old and new - outside Governor Hochul's pro-nuclear "Future Energy Economy Summit". 

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.

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."

"No one in New York wants people to suffer the horrible immediate toxicities of a nuclear accident," said Dr. Kathleen Nolan, Senior Research Director, Catskill Mountainkeeper, and 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."

Food & Water Watch New York State Director Laura Shindel! 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."

(Image: People gathered on a street in Syracuse with signs protesting Nuclear in New York.)