Pelham, Westchester Awarded Climate Action Grant

PELHAM, NY — Westchester County and Pelham, along with seven other communities, have been awarded a $100K grant to administer a collaborative working group to complete individual government operations greenhouse gas inventories and climate action plans that will outline emissions reduction targets, strategies, and projects.

County Executive George Latimer said Westchester County, and the municipalities that comprise it, take very seriously the impact climate change has on our present and future.

"This grant will allow us to work together to find real solutions and serve as a model for other governments who aim to create a similar robust climate response plan,” he said.

Westchester County Climate Action Planning Institute is a 16-month-long inter-municipal program where 9 municipalities will participate in a collaborative working group to complete individual local government operations GHG emissions inventories and climate action plans that will outline GHG emissions reduction targets, strategies and projects.

As lead applicant and project participant, Westchester County’s project team will include municipal staff and appointed members from its Climate Smart Communities Task Force.

The county is being joined by five villages, one town and two cities all of which want to develop successful climate change mitigation strategies and build community resilience. Each partner municipality will contribute a similar team.

Along with the county, the other participants include:

• Village of Hastings-on-Hudson
• Village of Irvington
• Town and Village of Ossining
• City of Peekskill
• Village of Tarrytown
• Village of Pelham
• City of White Plains

White Plains Mayor Tom Roach said participation in the grant was a great opportunity to collaborate with neighboring municipalities and the county to leverage resources toward the goals of identifying greenhouse gas emissions and developing a climate action plan.

"These two deliverables will direct future environmental initiatives," he said.

Hastings-on-Hudson Mayor Nicola Armacost said her village is deeply committed to addressing climate change and this collaborative initiative led by the county will help make headway on developing a much needed climate action plan and undertaking a climate vulnerability assessment.

"We owe it our children and future generations to start making the necessary changes now,” she said.

On CAPI Westchester’s completion, the county and partner municipalities will present their GHGIs and CAPs at a final working group meeting and to their respective environmental committees and elected officials. As primary programmatic implementation partner, the Hudson Valley Regional Council will guide participants in the development of their GHGIs and CAPs.

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