State Climate Smart Communities named - Mid Hudson News Website
State Climate Smart Communities named - Mid Hudson News
ALBANY – A number of area municipalities have been cited for achieving certification as part of the state’s Climate Smart Communities program.
The program supports local efforts to meet the economic, social, and environmental challenges posed by climate change.
The Village of Hastings-on-Hudson was recertified at the Silver level, the highest achievement, making funds available through grants.
Several other communities were certified as Bronze, including the villages of Catskill and Tarrytown, cities of New Rochelle and Peekskill, and the towns of Olive, Rhinebeck, Rosendale and Shandaken. The Town of Mamaroneck was recertified as a Bronze community.
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Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”