By Jason Klaiber
Staff Writer
A group of elected officials came together on the steps of the Syracuse City Hall on March 11 as they publicly thanked Gov. Andrew Cuomo for progress made in combating climate change while insisting more action needs to be done.
The press conference on East Washington Street reiterated a letter signed by more than 100 local officials that commends Cuomo for his administration’s work to ban fracking and set energy efficiency standards but calls for the governor to ramp up a focus on both renewable and clean energy.
The letter, written up by steering committee members for Elected Officials to Protect New York, outlines the following recommended goals for the state amidst its planned transition to 70 percent renewable energy by 2030 under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA):
• Increase state funding, support, procurement and permitting to deploy large-scale renewable energy statewide.
• Invest in “large numbers” of “good” clean energy jobs in low-income communities and communities of color.
• Increased investments in New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) programs, local governments and community-based organizations for the deployment of renewable energy, heat pumps, electric vehicle charging stations and other infrastructure on top of the creation of incentives for communities to welcome and host grid-scale renewable energy projects
• Rejection of permits for all new fossil fuel infrastructure, including gas-fired power plants
• Work with utility providers to create a “more resilient” 21st century electricity grid to handle increased renewable interconnections, electric vehicles and “electrification.”
Syracuse Common Councilor Joseph Driscoll said a false dichotomy exists between what is ethically, morally and environmentally right and what is economically intelligent.
He said such efforts as the city’s capital investments in LED lighting “massively reduced” both the area’s carbon footprint and its annual spending figures.
DeWitt Town Councilor Kerin Rigney said her town has made efforts to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions through the purchasing of electric vehicles, the installation of charging stations, a switch over to LED lighting and the building of a solar array on a delisted landfill.
“DeWitt is working hard to do our part to slow the damage to our environment, but we and the other municipalities can do so much more with the proper support from the state,” Rigney said. “Unfortunately we do not have the luxury to wait.”
Onondaga County Legislator Mary Kuhn said there has been denial of the climate crisis in Washington D.C. over the last three years.
Kuhn also said she will be sponsoring a bill helping to secure the availability of clean energy for any development project or nonprofit requiring it in the county.
In February, the Manlius Town Board passed a resolution opting the town residents back into a real property tax exemption for solar, wind and farms waste energy.
Despite such steps toward going solar in Manlius, Town Councilor Katelyn Kriesel said her community will need more funding from the state level to bypass current constraints in acquiring energy-efficient equipment.
She said the town has been looking into constructing a community solar array.
Kriesel said she hopes an influx of clean energy jobs and environmental programs would assist in closing wealth disparities in Central New York, gaps she said can be drawn along racial lines.
The signatories of the letter to Cuomo are viewable at nyelectedofficials.org.
