Kingston gets nearly $22M to fight climate change - Spectrum News
Kingston gets nearly $22M to fight climate change
A major boost is coming to the Kingston Waterfront area, considered one of the city's jewels.
Mayor Steve Noble said the city has been trying to secure funds to improve it.
“It took a while and we kind of every year, we honed our application a little bit better, and we were able to really meet the goals of the grant this time,” Noble said.
The money is on the way. Nearly $22 million in federal dollars will go toward preservation efforts against climate change. The project, expected to take until 2028, will elevate roadways to guard against flood threats.
“Be able to make sure that we are ready to withstand what climate change has in store, because the Hudson River is rising and we want to be able to make sure that our parks and our open spaces along this area are actually still able to be connected and available to our residents,” Noble said.
Funds will also be dedicated to developing new bike and walking paths so the entire Kingston community can access the waterfront.
“So being able to make sure that we're doing connectivity in our neighborhoods and so by investing in Ponckhockie and the waterfront area and the Rondout, it's really the first time that these communities are going to have like improved connectivity," Noble said.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”