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Challenging Cuomo From Left, Cynthia Nixon Gets Big Applause for Going Huge on Climate

Actress Cynthia Nixon speaks during the "People's State of the Union" event one day ahead of President Trump's State of The Union Speech to Congress, in Manhattan, New York, U.S., January 29, 2018. (Photo: Reuters/Darren Ornitz)

Challenging Cuomo From Left, Cynthia Nixon Gets Big Applause for Going Huge on Climate

"We must transition from an economy based in toxic carbon emissions toward an economy that protects workers, our communities, and our planet," said Nixon. "It won’t be easy. But we don't have a choice."

Challenging Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo from the left, Cynthia Nixon received a ringing endorsement from one of the nation's most respected climate action groups on Friday just after she unveiled a far-reaching plan to make sure the state is doing everying possible to transition off fossil fuels and towards a more sustainable and just energy future.

"We need to make a bold commitment to invest in renewable energy, one that will get us off fossil fuels completely and provide thousands of new jobs -- especially in the communities most impacted by pollution and climate change," Nixon said as she announced her Climate just platform.

"We must transition from an economy based in toxic carbon emissions toward an economy that protects workers, our communities, and our planet," she added. "It won't be easy. But we don't have a choice."

Among the key policy planks Nixon's plan:

  • Transition to 100% Renewable Energy;
  • Reject All New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure;
  • Hold Corporate Polluters Accountable and Make Them Pay;
  • Fight the Trump Plan to Open up the Atlantic Ocean for Oil and Gas Drilling;
  • Fix the Subways and Expand Mass Transit;
  • Divest From Fossil Fuels;
  • Let Dangerous Nuclear Power Plants Close; and
  • Uphold the Paris Agreement

The platform was greeted with enthusiasm by 350 Action's executive direction May Boeve as well as 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben.

"2018 is the year to say 'enough is enough' to to the fossil fuel industry," declared Boeve in a statement. "We expect elected officials at all levels to be rejecting new fossil fuel projects, refusing fossil fuel money, and jump starting a just and equitable transition to 100% renewable energy. Our movement has pushed New York to a place of global leadership by banning fracking and divesting from fossil fuels. We applaud Cynthia Nixon's plan to build on these hard-fought movement victories by moving us closer to a fossil free world that works for all of us."

In addition to her new platform, Nixon on Friday also signed the Sunrise Movement's pledge to not accept campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry:

McKibben said that with a hostile force in the White House and Republicans controlling Congress, it's vital that state governments doing everything possible to fill the leadership void. "In the Trump era, when we need states leading, this is a gold-standard package of pledges," he said. "Nixon clearly understands the urgency of climate change and its connection to the Empire State's prosperity."

On Saturday, Nixon tweeted:

"This is an issue where we can't afford to have rhetoric and not action," Nixon stated on Friday. "We need to be able to look our children in the eyes and say we're fighting for them. But I know that together, with a movement, we can win this fight. The time for bold action is now."

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