Town of Ossining Passes Resolution in Support of the Climate Action Council’s CLCPA Draft Scoping Plan
May 23, 2022
In 2019, New York State passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA, also known as “The Climate Act”) with GHG emission reduction goals.
Now, with the Draft Scoping Plan created and out for public comment, the fossil fuel interests are rallying to torpedo efforts to move the scoping plan into action. Some 40 years ago, the fossil fuel industry knew the damage they were creating. They have moved from denial to delay tactics in an effort to continue to profit at all costs.
On May 11, 2022, the Town of Ossining passed a resolution in support of CLCPA Climate Action Council’s Draft Scoping Plan. We’d like to thank Town Supervisor, Dana Levenberg, for spearheading this effort and bringing awareness of this to the Town Council.
You can read it in its entirety here.
Here is an excerpt:
Resolution Declaring Support for the New York State Climate Action Council Scoping Plan
WHEREAS, the Sixth Assessment of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finds
that climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and affecting the
lives of billions of people around the world; and
WHEREAS, the IPCC Assessment concludes that rapid, deep and sustained reductions in
global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are necessary, including accelerated action in this
critical decade, to limit global warming to within 1.5°C and 2°C in this century; and
WHEREAS, New York State recognizes the urgent need to reduce and eliminate GHG
emissions in the atmosphere, passing the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection
Act (“Climate Act”) committing the State to:
• reduce GHG emissions by 40 percent by 2030 below 1990 levels, and achieve net-zero
emissions by 2050;
• meet 70 percent of electricity needs from renewable resources by 2030, and 100 percent
of electricity needs from zero-emissions resources by 2040;
• ensure a just and equitable transition that leaves no one behind, and dedicate up to 40
percent of the benefits of clean energy investments to Disadvantaged Communities; and
WHEREAS, the New York State Climate Action Council has approved for public comment a
Draft Scoping Plan to meet New York’s climate and equity goals; and
WHEREAS, the Scoping Plan calls for shifting to energy-efficient electrification in buildings and
transportation as the primary solution to replace fossil-fuel combustion in these sectors, which
together account for 60 percent of the state’s carbon emissions; and
WHEREAS, the Scoping Plan calls for a phase-down of emissions from fossil fuel-fired
electricity generation, while ensuring support and protections for impacted workers as they
transition to clean energy jobs; and
WHEREAS, the 2021 Jobs Study by the Just Transition Working Group for the NYS Climate
Action Council estimates that meeting New York’s climate goals will result in a net gain of
189,000 jobs across the state by 2030, alone, with a ratio of jobs gained to jobs displaced of 10
to 1; and
WHEREAS, the Scoping Plan includes measures that would expand the development of
renewable resources and battery storage, encourage “agrivoltaics,” or the co-location of
agricultural activities with solar and wind, and provide resources to communities to assist with
renewable siting and land-use planning; and
WHEREAS, the Scoping Plan recognizes the critical role that rural landscapes play, both natural
and working lands, in sequestering carbon emissions and enabling the state to achieve net-zero
emissions, and the importance of agricultural land preservation, open space protection, support
for farmers to improve soil health, and policies that expand afforestation and reforestation and
incentivize and assist private landowners in implementing sustainable forest management
practices; and
WHEREAS, the Integration Analysis for the Scoping Plan finds that meeting emissions
reduction goals of the Climate Act is technically feasible and will have the additional and
significant benefit of improving public health by eliminating co-pollutants from fossil fuel
combustion, resulting in an estimated $50 to $120 billion in health-related savings by 2050; and
WHEREAS, according to NYSERDA, over half of what New Yorkers currently spend on energy
leaves New York, mostly for fossil fuels; and
WHEREAS, our communities would be better served by keeping energy spending primarily
within the local economy; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, the Town of Ossining affirms the critical importance of meeting the emissions and
equity goals of the Climate Act, which will help mitigate dangerous warming while delivering the
additional benefits of improving public health, economic opportunities, agricultural land open
space protection, and quality of life for the people of Westchester County; and, be it further
RESOLVED, the Town of Ossining declares its support for prohibiting an expansion of fossil fuel
infrastructure, which contradicts the goals of the Climate Act, and for transitioning to efficient
electricity-based solutions for buildings and transportation; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Town of Ossining supports a planning process for a managed transition of the
utility gas system that maintains affordable, safe, and reliable utility service and protects low and moderate-income households from an undue burden in the transition; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Town of Ossining supports the recommendations of the Scoping Plan for
advanced building codes that will improve the energy efficiency of new buildings, creating
healthier living and work environments while reducing monthly energy costs; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Town of Ossining supports the recommendations of the Scoping Plan to phase
in code requirements prohibiting on-site combustion of fossil fuels in new buildings over a 2024-
2027 period; and, be it further
RESOLVED, the Town of Ossining calls on the Climate Action Council to include in the Scoping
Plan the necessary policies and support to help owners of existing buildings improve energy
efficiency and transition to zero-emissions equipment, ensuring cost parity with fossil systems,
with incentives and financing assistance as necessary; and, be it further
RESOLVED, the Town of Ossining supports Scoping Plan recommendations that make electric
vehicles more affordable relative to gas-powered vehicles, and expand fast-charging
infrastructure; and, be it further
RESOLVED, the Town of Ossining urges the Climate Action Council to include in the Scoping
Plan recommendations to expand assistance for all-electric municipal transit systems; and, be it
further
RESOLVED, the Town of Ossining further urges the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation and NYSERDA to immediately launch a sustained statewide public
education and information campaign on the benefits of a clean energy economy and climate friendly choices by consumers of heating and cooling systems, transportation, and products and
appliances; and, be it further
RESOLVED, the Town of Ossining shall forward copies of this resolution to the Commissioner
of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, President of NYSERDA, Chair of the
NYS Public Service Commission, the NYS Climate Action Council, and Members of the State
Senate and Assembly representing the Town of Ossining.
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