2024 is a pivotal year for clean energy and climate in New York. Five years since the passage of New York’s ambitious Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), the headlines have been filled with alarming reports about New York’s lack of progress toward our clean energy goals. New York’s July CLCPA progress report concludes that the state is no longer on track to achieve its mandate of 70% renewable electricity by 2030 with a business-as-usual approach. Recent setbacks for utility-scale renewable energy projects paired with unprecedented electric load growth have created a major clean energy gap to close. New Yorkers see the problem, but we have not yet determined a smart and cost-effective solution that gets us back on track. That’s why this Climate Week is perhaps the most consequential one yet for New York lawmakers. We have two options in front of us: either we can admit defeat and water down New York’s climate law, or we can double down on what’s working as part of a renewed strategy to achieve our clean energy ambitions. Opponents of clean energy are seizing upon recent setbacks for utility-scale renewable energy projects as proof that our clean energy and climate mandates are not attainable. A few weeks ago, the Business Council of New York, along with the American Petroleum Institute and other fossil fuel interest groups, issued a letter calling for Gov. Hochul to postpone clean energy mandates and to continue investing in fossil fuels. While we can all agree that New York homes and businesses need affordable, reliable electricity, maintaining our reliance on fossil fuels and abandoning New York’s clean energy leadership is not a plan; it’s simply sticking our head in the sand and waiting for high tide. We have six years before the first major compliance deadline for the CLCPA; proposals to delay our clean energy goals are premature, and calls for investment in new fossil fuel infrastructure are ill-advised and will drive up New Yorkers energy bills for decades to come. New Yorkers need a bold new strategy to achieve our ambitious clean energy goals. Accelerating rooftop and community solar deployment must be a key pillar of that strategy. This sentiment is supported by a recent report from the state comptroller’s office, which found that community and rooftop solar (also referred to as “distributed” solar) is one of the only bright spots in New York’s clean energy transition, achieving goals ahead of schedule (90% to the 2025 goal) and under budget. Distributed solar projects are smaller than utility-scale projects, but they add up. The industry has proven to be nimble, constructing a record-breaking amount of solar capacity each year for the last five years in spite of inflation and supply chain challenges. An underappreciated fact is that 93% of New York’s installed solar capacity is rooftop and community-scale, while only 7% is utility-scale. That’s why the solar industry and a growing coalition of clean energy supporters are calling for Hochul to raise New York’s distributed solar goal from 10 gigawatts by 2030 to 20 gigawatts by 2035, and to advance policies that accelerate deployment. We need interconnection reform to lower the cost of connecting new solar and energy storage projects to the electric system; streamlining permitting for rooftop and community-scale projects; and targeted incentives for solar projects that minimize land use impacts and reduce electric bills for low-income New Yorkers. Doubling distributed solar deployment won’t just help New York close the gap on its clean energy commitments; it will provide immense benefits. The New York Solar Energy Industries Association estimates an additional 10 gigawatts of distributed solar will provide $50 billion in direct electric bill savings for homes and businesses and $4 billion in revenue to rural landowners and local governments through lease payments and property taxes, all while lowering the cost of clean energy transition and supporting 15,000 additional jobs. New York’s greatness is rooted in our every upward ambition and our resiliency in the face of challenge. As world leaders descend on New York City for Climate Week, now is not the time for New York’s leaders to cave to fossil fuel interests and go “Climate Weak.” It’s time to recommit to the vision of the CLCPA and advance a strategy that maintains New York as a beacon of clean energy leadership and innovation for the rest of the country and world to follow. Ginsburg joined the New York Solar Energy Industries Association as executive director in 2023. He has more than a decade of experience in solar research and development, with stints at the City University of New York and Solar One.