Reduce the Town’s carbon footprint, encourage climate change adaptation measures, minimize energy demand and promote the use of alternative energy

Local munic­i­pal­i­ties are sus­cep­ti­ble to cli­mate change, but also have a unique oppor­tu­ni­ty to both mit­i­gate and adapt to its effects. Mit­i­ga­tion mea­sures are those that decrease a community’s green­house gas emis­sions and car­bon foot­print. These mea­sures, which span from smart land use to ener­gy effi­cien­cy tech­niques to renew­able ener­gy instal­la­tions, will decrease long term spend­ing, enhance the resilien­cy of all infra­struc­ture and have a net pos­i­tive impact on the envi­ron­ment. The Town should update its Cli­mate Action Plan, set new green­house gas (GHG) emis­sion reduc­tion goals, and con­sid­er invest­ments in renew­able ener­gy instal­la­tions, ener­gy effi­cien­cy retro­fits, and oth­er alter­ations in Town oper­a­tions to reduce GHG pol­lu­tion. The Town should con­sid­er pur­su­ing cer­ti­fi­ca­tion as a Cli­mate Smart Com­mu­ni­ty through the DEC to become eli­gi­ble for fund­ing to aid in these endeavors.