>>> ACCORDING TO NEW RESEARCH

RELEASED, MORE THAN 80% OF NEW

YORKERS OF BOTH POLITICAL

PARTIES BELIEVE CLIMATE CHANGE

IS HAPPENING NOW AND WILL HARM

THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES ON A

PERSONAL LEVEL.

SO WHETHER YOU'RE A RED OR BLUE

HOUSEHOLD, YOU ARE APPARENTLY

UNITED STATEWIDE WITH YOUR

CONCERNS.

IS GOVERNOR CUOMO'S PROPOSAL TO

MAKE NEW YORK STATE RELIANT ON

RENEWABLES BY 2040 FEASIBLE?

WE EXPLORE THE HUMAN IMPACT OF

CLIMATE CHANGE AND WE'RE HERE TO

TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE

RESEARCH, THE GOVERNOR'S PLAN,

AND HOW IT MAY HELP RESIDENTS OF

THE EMPIRE STATE.

JOINING US NOW IS OUR GOOD

FRIEND, THE NEW YORK EXECUTIVE

DIRECTOR OF THE NATURE

CONSERVENY.

GOOD TO HAVE YOU HERE, BILL.

>> THANKS, JACK.

>> IT'S NICE WHEN WE HAVE A

CONVERSATION ABOUT CLIMATE

CHANGE.

>> THIS IS A GOOD USE.

>> WERE THERE THINGS THAT

SURPRISED YOU WITH THE RESEARCH?

>> A COUPLE OF THINGS.

MORE THAN 80%.

IT IS A HUGE NUMBER, AND YOU

TALKED ABOUT BOTH, YOU KNOW, RED

AND BLUE, BUT IT'S URBAN, IT'S

SUBURBAN, IT'S RURAL, IT'S

WEALTHY, MIDDLE CLASS, AND LOW

INCOME.

IT'S ALL ETHNICITIES.

IT REALLY IS -- THE DEBATE IS

OVER IN NEW YORK.

CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL AND

PEOPLE GET IT.

AND I THINK THE OTHER THING THAT

SURPRISED ME WAS JUST HOW

WILLING NEW YORKERS ARE TO HELP

PAY FOR THE SOLUTIONS.

AND THAT WAS PRETTY IMPRESSIVE

TO SEE, LIKE HOW MANY RESOURCES

WE CAN GENERATE.

AND LASTLY, THE RECOGNITION THAT

TRANSPORTATION IS A HUGE PIECE

OF THIS.

AND WE'VE GOT TO SOLVE

TRANSPORTATION.

>> I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE ARE

TOO MANY TIMES THAT WE CAN SAY

IN THIS ERA THAT YOU GET 80% OF

PEOPLE AGREEING ON ANYTHING.

>> YEAH.

>> AND TACK ONTO THAT, PEOPLE

SAY NOT ONLY DO I AGREE WITH IT,

BUT I'M WILLING TO PAY.

>> YEAH.

>> LOOKING AGAIN AT THE

RESEARCH, WE TALK ABOUT

TRANSPORTATION AND ALSO CLIMATE.

LET'S TALK ABOUT FIRST THE

NOTION OF A PROPOSED CARBON FEE.

>> RIGHT.

>> EXPLAIN WHAT THAT IS FOR

PEOPLE, AND TELL US WHAT THE

RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH ARE.

>> SO THE GENERAL RESEARCH WAS

THIS INCREDIBLE AWARENESS.

AND THEN WE ASKED FOLKS,

REGISTERED VOTERS, HOW MUCH

WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PAY?

PER HOUSEHOLD, IT WAS SOMETHING

LIKE $10 TO $20 A MONTH THAT NEW

YORKERS ARE WILLING TO PAY,

WHICH WOULD GENERATE $1 BILLION

TO $2 BILLION A YEAR TOWARDS

THIS.

SO YOU COULD LEVY A CARBON FEE

ON THE COMPANIES THAT ARE COAL

RELATED, OIL RELATED, GAS

RELATED.

NOW, THEY'RE PROBABLY GOING TO

PASS THOSE COSTS ONTO US.

BUT WHAT THE RESEARCH IS TELLING

US, HEY, WE, NEW YORKERS, ARE

READY TO COVER THOSE COSTS IF

THE FUNDS ARE GOING INTO

SOMETHING LIKE A CLEAN

TRANSPORTATION FUND THAT'S GOING

TO BE SOLVENT --

>> WE'RE CERTAIN OUR MONEY IS

GOING THERE AND NOT GOING TO END

UP FOR A SPORTS STADIUM

SOMEPLACE.

>> RIGHT.

PEOPLE WANT TO SEE THE MONEY

THEY'RE PUTTING TOWARDS THIS AS

SOLVING THE PROBLEM.

SO WHEN YOU HAVE A FEE, THE

FIRST THING YOU'RE GETTING IS A

REDUCTION IN THE CONSUMPTION.

ESSENTIALLY, THE FEE IS

DAMPENING CONSUMPTION.

BUT THEN THE FEE IS GOING TO

THINGS LIKE HOW DO WE PROMOTE

INFRASTRUCTURE THAT SUPPORTS

ELECTRIC VEHICLES?

HOW DO WE CREATE MORE FUELING

STATIONS FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

ACROSS THE STATE?

HOW DO WE MODERNIZE THE

TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE?

SO PEOPLE ARE SAYING I'M WILLING

TO PAY IF I KNOW IT'S GOING

TOWARDS THE SOLUTION AND WE'RE

PREPARING FOR A FUTCH THEY ARE

IS CARBON FREE?

>> WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OTHER

AREAS THAT YOUR RESEARCH

DISCLOSED TO YOU THAT NEW

YORKERS ARE WILLING TO SAY YES,

LET'S DO THIS?

>> I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS

THAT WAS REALLY INTERESTING IS

AT THIS POINT, BECAUSE OF THE

AMOUNT OF SUCCESS WE'VE HAD AT

BUILDING EFFICIENCIES AND OTHER

FUEL SOURCES, THE NUMBER ONE

PRODUCER OF CARBON POLLUTION IS

TRANSPORTATION.

SO A THIRD OF CARBON EMISSIONS,

CARBON POLLUTION IN NEW YORK IS

GENERATED BY VEHICLES, TRUCKS,

CARS NOW.

AND THAT'S TRUE IN THE NATION,

TOO.

NEW YORKERS, I THINK, GET THAT

AND RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS A

PIECE OF THE PUZZLE THAT NEW

YORK HASN'T BEEN LOOKING AT

ENOUGH.

SO THINGS LIKE -- I MEAN, A GOOD

EXAMPLE HERE IN NEW YORK CITY

WOULD BE CONGESTION PRICING.

WHAT ARE THOSE MECHANISMS THAT

WE CAN GET CARS OFF THE ROAD,

GENERATE RESOURCES AND IN THE

CASE OF CONGESTION PRICING,

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOLVING THE

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.

TRAINS AND BUSES AND THE THINGS

THAT WE DEPEND ON HERE IN NEW

YORK CITY ALL THE TIME.

>> THAT'S SORT OF A FUNNY AREA,

THE PRICING.

WE'VE SEEN POLITICAL FIGURES SAY

NO, THEN TURN AROUND AND SAY

YES.

WE'VE SEEN MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

SAY NO AND TURN AROUND AND SAY

NO.

AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT

SAY NO AND CONTINUE TO SAY NO.

WHEN I TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT IT,

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT DRIVES

THIS VACILLATION IS THE IDEA,

GOING BACK TO WHAT WE SAID

BEFORE, CAN WE BE CERTAIN WHERE

THE MONEY IS GOING TO GO AND

THAT WILL IT, IN FACT, HELP

PEOPLE?

>> I THINK AT THIS POINT, THE

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION CRISIS IS

SO BIG AND BAD IN NEW YORK, THE

IDEA IS, OVER TEN YEARS, THROUGH

CONGESTION PRICING, WE WOULD

GENERATE $15 BILLION TOWARDS

SOLVING THE PUBLIC

TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM.

NOW, HOW EXACTLY THAT PLAYS, ALL

THE DETAILS, THOSE ABSOLUTELY

NEED TO BE WORKED OUT.

BUT IT IS FOCUSED ON DIRECTING

THE RESOURCES TOWARDS PUBLIC

TRANSPORTATION.

I IMAGINE A NEW YORK OF 2050 IN

A LOT OF WAYS IS GOING TO BE

DIFFERENT.

>> BILL, NICE TO KNOW THAT THERE

IS SOME GOOD NEWS, AND THAT IS A

LOT OF PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT

THIS AND SAYING WE NEED TO DO

SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET YOU BACK AND

TALK MORE ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT

WILL BE DONE.

>> THANKS, JACK.

GREAT TO SEE YOU.

THANKS.