Climate Jobs Institute Talks on Development of a Climate-Resilient Energy Grid at 2025 SOMOS Albany Legislative Workshops
On March 8th 2025, the Climate Jobs Institute (CJI) co-hosted a panel on “The Importance of Developing a Climate-resilient Energy Grid” at the 2025 SOMOS INC Albany Conference. This marks CJI’s third year of attendance at the Albany SOMOS conference, an annual convening sponsored by the New York State Assembly Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force. CJI’s panel reflected the conference’s themes of “Justice in Action” and included speakers from Con Edison, the Regional Plan Association, and the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV). The panel was sponsored by Assemblymember Yudelka Tapia.
Planning for Our Future: The Importance of Developing a Climate-resilient Energy Grid
CJI’s Assistant Director of Labor Outreach and Workforce Equity, Melissa Shetler, presented on the role of Thermal Energy Networks (TENs) as a just and equitable clean energy transition strategy for residential heating and cooling. Melissa highlighted findings from CJI’s TENs report, including job opportunities for existing workforces, such as gas and pipe workers. Julie Tighe, President of NYLCV, spoke on the extreme heat conditions faced by low-income families and people of color - emphasizing grid stability as a public health issue for NY. Nelson Yip, Director of Strategic Planning from ConEd, detailed the utility’s resiliency strategies such as upgrading the grid to be ready for heat waves and hurricanes. Lastly, Robert Freudenberg, Vice President of Energy and Environmental Programs at RPA, discussed investment needs for electrical substations, transmission lines, and battery systems for the grid. These conversations included remarks by New York Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley, who noted the continued importance of energy infrastructure in light of high-electricity needs from artificial intelligence and buildings in the future.
CJI team members Zach Cunningham (Assistant Director of Labor Education), Bethany Figueroa (Research Support Specialist), Katie Hayden (Training and Education Associate), Reyna Cohen (Research and Policy Development Associate), and Lynda Nguyen (Climate Jobs Associate) accompanied Melissa Shetler at the conference. The CJI team attended the Labor Breakfast, several receptions, and various legislative workshops, including “On the Frontlines: Defending Immigrant Communities Through Coalition Building” and “Saving our Workers: A Discussion on the Dangerous Worksite Conditions in New York.”
Throughout SOMOS, the CJI team engaged with labor leaders, non-profit organizations, and state legislators. Several key figures spoke at the Welcome Reception and Labor Breakfast including Governor Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, and Speaker of the New York State Assembly Carl E. Heastie. The Labor Breakfast also included speeches from executive board members of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) and District Council 37 (DC37) - who spoke on the importance of further collaboration and relationship-building between labor and the state government.
In the panel on defending immigrant communities, sponsored by Assemblymembers De Los Santos and Marcela Mitaynes Mitayne, CJI team members learned the importance of tracking new immigration trends to better understand language access needs, especially when it comes to ensuring that immigrant workers can understand their rights and safety measures in their primary language. Attendees of this panel were also joined by New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams who spoke to the importance of finding commonalities and recognizing that the vilification of difference can be meant to distract and divide.
The panel discussion on New York’s dangerous worksite conditions, sponsored by Senator Jessica Ramos & Assemblymember Karines Reyes, spotlighted the importance of workplace safety standards in the construction industry, protections for the state’s most vulnerable workers, and union jobs creating safe and just workplaces. The panel was moderated by Ari Espinal, NYC Political Coordinator for the Mason Tenders District Council Political Action Committee (an affiliate of Laborers’ Local 79), and featured Assembly Member Carmen De La Rosa, Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson, and attorney Nicholas Liakas.
CJI is looking forward to continuing serving as an academic partner to New York. At the end of April, CJI is expected to host a webinar on the progress New York has made towards furthering its clean energy transition and creating climate jobs in the state. The Climate Jobs Institute will continue to engage with laborers and legislators to support a just & equitable sustainable future throughout the coming years.
CJI Delegation Team at the 2025 SOMOS Conference in Albany
