ONEONTA, N.Y. — New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Acting Commissioner Amanda Lefton announced nine communities, including the Town of Oneonta in Otsego County, have achieved certification in the latest round of the state’s Climate Smart Communities Certification program.
Communities certified as part of the program accumulate points for planning and implementing actions to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and improve community resilience. As part of this announcement, eight communities successfully met the criteria to be newly recognized or recertified as leaders at the bronze level, while one (the City of Albany) was certified at the silver level.
The new and recertified bronze Climate Smart Communities are:
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- Town of Ballston in Saratoga County
- City of Batavia in Genesee County
- Town of Claverack in Columbia County
- Town of Clifton Park in Saratoga County
- Town of Geneva in Ontario County
- Town of Jay in Essex County
- Town of Oneonta in Otsego County
- Village of Orchard Park in Erie County
Established in 2009, the Climate Smart Communities (CSC) 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 greenhouse-gas emissions and adapt to climate change. To date, 439 local governments representing nearly 9.7 million New Yorkers have adopted the Climate Smart Communities pledge, the DEC said.
Launched in 2014, the Climate Smart Communities Certification program recognizes the leadership and accomplishments of communities implementing climate actions. To be certified, communities must demonstrate an active task force, which includes residents and municipal representatives, to lead the charge and advance local climate action. Most certified communities complete greenhouse-gas inventories that calculate emissions from the local level and identify how to help New York State achieve its greenhouse-gas emission reduction targets.
To date, 148 communities have been certified bronze, and 18 communities have been certified silver as part of the program, per the DEC.
