By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
As a certified NYS “Climate Smart Community,” Cazenovia is part of a network of communities engaged in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving climate resilience.
On March 16, the village hosted its first regional Climate Action Leadership Summit, presented by the United-Climate Action Network (U-CAN). The summit, held at the Cazenovia Public Library, brought together more than 40 community leaders to discuss the regional impacts of climate change and to share ideas on how to mitigate and adapt to the harmful effects at the local level.
The historic event was organized by a team of U-CAN volunteers and led by Beth Broadway, president and CEO of InterFaith Works of CNY. Activists Phil Rose, Geoffrey Navias, Mary Bartlett, Heather Venditti, Liz Moran and Elizabeth Crofut facilitated discussion.
According to Bartlett, the summit’s goals were to build relationships and networks around the issue of climate change; to share successes; to develop a collective vision and plan of priorities; to determine sustainable actions; and to build public will.
“We are looking at what we can do here in our own backyards,” said Rose.
The diverse group of attendees included public servants, farmers, educators, financial planners, industry experts and representatives of the Oneida Nation.
Each participant brought a unique perspective and individualized concerns to the conversation.
“As a vegetable farmer, I deal with the weather on a daily basis,” said Matt Robinson, owner of Hartwood Farm in Fenner. “Climate change is not just about global warming, it’s about extreme weather events [like flooding, wind and hail], which [present real challenges] when growing crops. Being out on the front lines is what brought me here today.”
During the nearly six-hour summit, participants divided into five focus groups: education, planning/civic leadership, environmental activism, agriculture and business. Each group worked to identify key action areas.
Following the brainstorming session, the group reconvened and agreed to focus on five specific action items: Pursuing small- and large-scale tree planting projects, developing strategic communication strategies, advancing a local law banning plastic bags, facilitating renewable or “distributive” energy initiatives and revisiting the proposed Cazenovia lake perimeter sewer
Near the end of the summit, the participants divided into leadership committees, each dedicated to advancing one of the five proposed projects.
Additionally, the group collectively agreed to put pressure on state legislators to pass the New York State Climate and Community Protection Act—a progressive climate-equity policy that would move the State to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050.
If passed, the proposed law would also create green jobs and protect those communities that are most vulnerable to climate change.
The group’s varied efforts will coincide with the implementation of existing regional and local climate action plans from the town, village and Madison County for example.
“All of these plans are resources to us,” said Broadway. “We have to work at [addressing our climate change issues] from all different angles . . . It’s not going to just happen out of one effort.”
The summit leaders and participants agreed to meet again in three months to follow-up. In the meantime, they plan to launch a locally focused climate change newsletter to increase communication and promote public engagement.
U-CAN will hold its second annual “Seize the Power” Climate & Energy Action Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 13 in Hubbard Hall, Cazenovia College.
For more information, contact Phil Rose at 315-395-7399 or rose[email protected].
