Local Actions Support State's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act

Certified Communities Are Models for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Building Local Climate Resilience

New York State Division of Homes and Community Renewal Joins Climate Smart Communities Program

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the latest round of communities to achieve certification as part of New York State's Climate Smart Communities program, which supports local efforts to meet the economic, social, and environmental challenges posed by climate change. The announcement signifies meaningful steps being taken by 19 local governments to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The announcement was made during New York's week-long Earth Week celebration. The Governor also released a proclamation designating April 22, 2023, as Earth Day in New York State.

"This Earth Week, we're celebrating New York's progress toward creating a cleaner, more sustainable future and the Climate Smart Communities program is key to helping us achieve these goals," Governor Hochul said. "This collaborative program empowers local governments to take action to meet the challenge of our changing climate. I commend these communities for implementing measures that will adapt to the ongoing impacts of climate change and increase community resilience to extreme weather."

To achieve Climate Smart Community certification, local governments accumulate points for planning and implementation actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve community resilience to the worsening impacts of climate change. Recently, 18 new communities successfully met the criteria to be newly recognized as leaders at the bronze level and the town of Bedford ascended from bronze to silver — the highest level of achievement available.

Capital Region

    Town of Canaan (Columbia County) - bronze
    Town of Chatham (Columbia County) - bronze
    Town of Colonie (Albany County) - bronze
    Columbia County - bronze
    Town of Ghent (Columbia County) - bronze
    Town of Hillsdale (Columbia County) - bronze
    Village of Kinderhook (Columbia County) - bronze
    Town of Taghkanic (Columbia County) - bronze

Central New York

    Village of Fayetteville (Onondaga County) - bronze
    Village of Tully (Onondaga County) - bronze

Finger Lakes

    Town of Henrietta (Monroe County) - bronze
    Monroe County - bronze
    Village of Sodus (Wayne County) - bronze

Mid-Hudson

    Town of Bedford (Westchester County) - silver
    Town of Hurley (Ulster County) - bronze
    Town of Union Vale (Dutchess County) - bronze
    Village of Warwick (Orange County) - bronze
    City of White Plains (Westchester County) - bronze

Southern Tier

    Town of Newfield (Tompkins County) - bronze

A full list of actions completed by certified Climate Smart Communities

The Governor also announced that New York State Division of Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) is the newest participant in the State's interagency Climate Smart Communities effort to encourage and assist local governments in taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the effects of climate change. HCR joins several other state entities in sponsoring the program, including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Department of Public Service, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of Health, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and New York Power Authority (NYPA).

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said, "DEC applauds Homes and Community Renewal for joining the Climate Smart Communities team and celebrates the work of the certified communities who are serving as models for municipalities across the state. These local climate leaders are acting to incorporate clean energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and implement climate resiliency projects to benefit their communities and protect them from the consequences of our changing climate."

New York State Division of Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, "HCR is proud to join the State's Climate Smart Communities program and work with local governments across New York in implementing measures that will help reduce and mitigate the impact of climate change in their own backyards. Thank you to Governor Hochul for her commitment to taking the effects of climate change seriously and congratulations to the 19 new Climate Smart Communities honored today."

Established in 2009, the interagency Climate Smart Communities program provides guidance and technical support to local governments to take locally driven climate action. The first step to becoming a Climate Smart Community is to register by pledging to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. To date, 377 local governments representing more than 9.4 million New Yorkers adopted the Climate Smart Communities pledge. The certification program was launched in 2014 to document and celebrate the accomplishments of communities taking climate action. The addition of today's new communities brings New York's total number of certified Climate Smart Communities to 118 - 10 at the silver level and 108 at the bronze level.

Climate Smart Communities Coordinators provide free technical support to municipalities across the state and assists local governments in taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change through outreach, planning, education, and capacity building. To contact a Climate Smart Communities Coordinator, go here.

NYSERDA Clean Energy Communities Program

All of the communities recognized today also participate in NYSERDA's Clean Energy Communities program, which assists local governments to implement clean energy actions and save on energy costs. In addition to being certified Climate Smart Communities, 18 of the 19 are designated Clean Energy Communities. Communities that complete at least four NYSERDA-identified high-impact actions are designated as Clean Energy Communities and are eligible for grants to help with deploying low-carbon strategies. Grants are available to support actions like adopting the NYStretch Energy Code and undertaking clean energy community campaigns. Additional funds are also available for disadvantaged communities. Funds are provided through the Clean Energy Fund and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, "I am pleased to recognize these 19 communities for taking strong action against the impacts of climate change and thank New York State Homes and Community Renewal, for their support of the Climate Smart Communities program. Reducing emissions and building local resilience are priorities that we can achieve together, and each contribution moves us closer to creating a sustainable future for all New Yorkers."

DEC Climate Smart Communities Funding Programs

Two of the communities certified today, the town of Bedford and Monroe County, received funding through the DEC Climate Smart Communities Grant program. Established in 2016, this 50/50 matching grant program supports municipalities in completing certification actions and implementing projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience to the impacts of climate change. In 2019, Bedford received a $37,422 grant for a food scraps recycling pilot program. Since 2019, Monroe County has received a total of nearly $797,000 for five Climate Smart Communities grant projects. Its most recent awards are for producing three planning documents for the entire county: a climate vulnerability assessment, a climate adaptation plan, and an organics management plan.

Nine of the communities certified today have received awards under DEC's Municipal Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program in prior years. The ZEV program offers grants to install electric-vehicle charging stations for public use. Rebates toward the purchase or lease of electric vehicles for municipal fleets are also available under this program. The town of Bedford, for example, received approximately $46,000 between 2017 and 2019 for a combination of rebates for three electric vehicles and grants for three Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations.

Disadvantaged Communities

Seven of the communities certified today include neighborhoods that meet New York's Climate Justice Working Group disadvantaged communities criteria. Visit the Climate Act website for more information about the recently finalized disadvantaged communities criteria and for information on the Climate Justice Working Group.