ALBANY – New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos 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.
Seggos said the communities being certified “helped address the climate crisis by acting locally and bolstering New York State’s climate leadership,” adding “We look forward to working with our Climate Smart Communities and other local leaders who are ramping up clean energy, improving climate resiliency , and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, among other actions, to benefit quality of life and advance the State’s climate goals.”
The town of New Castle achieved silver certification, which is the highest level currently available. New York’s new bronze-certified Climate Smart Communities are the towns of Ancram, North East, Wawarsing, and Yorktown.
The Town of New Castle has achieved silver-level certification, having received bronze in 2021. New Castle was also the state’s first municipality to take the pledge and register as a Climate Smart Community. New Castle’s continued commitment to local climate action includes converting all of the town’s 531 streetlights to energy-efficient LEDs, installing electric vehicle charging stations for public use, and developing a climate vulnerability assessment to identify and reduce risks to the community from climate change.
North East, Wawarsing, and Yorktown demonstrated climate leadership through actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve community resilience to climate change, earning them all bronze-level certification. The town of North East’s actions included launching waste reduction and climate change education programs to inform the public. Wawarsing updated its zoning codes to preserve natural areas like wetlands and stream buffer zones, which offer protection from flooding. Yorktown streamlined the permitting process for battery energy storage systems to help drive the decarbonization of energy supply and reduce energy demand and power outages.
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