Hochul Admits Her Green Agenda Is Failing, But Don’t Be Fooled
New York Governor Kathy Hochul is finally acknowledging what working-class New Yorkers and energy workers have known for years: her “green transition” fantasy is collapsing under its own weight.
Last week, Hochul admitted that the state’s pie-in-the-sky climate mandates, like 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040, aren’t even remotely possible without hurting ratepayers. Translation: New Yorkers are being gouged on their utility bills to fund an energy pipe dream that isn’t delivering.
As the New York Post editorial board correctly put it, Hochul is offering “the smallest possible concession to reality,” not because she’s had a change of heart, but because she’s cornered by economic and political reality.
Power The Future has been calling this out for years. We warned that a reckless rush to wind and solar would spike energy prices, kill good-paying jobs, and do nothing measurable for the climate. We documented the blackout risks. We saw through the virtue-signaling and empty slogans.
And now, as New York’s power grid groans under unrealistic demands and ordinary people are told to turn off their air conditioners in July, Hochul dares to say, “We’re slowing things down.” Not canceling. Not correcting. Just tapping the brakes before another election.
Let’s be clear: Hochul isn’t retreating from the green agenda: she’s delaying it just long enough to survive politically. She’s still:
- Blocking natural gas pipelines
- Punishing homeowners with electrification mandates
- Pouring billions into offshore wind boondoggles
- Promising energy-intensive AI and chip manufacturing jobs without the reliable power to back them up
This isn’t reform. It’s cover.
Meanwhile, the climate elite from Leonardo DiCaprio partying in Venice to green billionaires flying private jets to climate summits couldn’t care less about the people bearing the brunt of this mess. The costs aren’t landing on them. They’re landing on energy workers, on working families, and on small businesses that can’t afford to “go green” by government mandate.
The editorial board is right: none of this pain will move the needle on global climate. But it will continue to push jobs out of state, punish ratepayers, and destabilize our grid.
Governor Hochul’s admission is too little, too late. The suffering she’s caused isn’t a side effect, but it was rather baked into the agenda from the beginning. And we’ll be here to remind Americans exactly what “green leadership” really costs.
July 15, 2025