Grounded in Reality: Recommendations from the New York State Land Use and Local Government Advisory Panel
The New York Climate Leadership and Community and Protection Act (CLCPA) was passed in 2019 to fight climate change, reduce emissions, and build more resilient communities. The CLCPA mandates at least an 85 percent reduction in carbon emissions below 1990 levels, as well as interval goals for reaching 100% zero-carbon electricity by 2040.
In order to reach those goals, advisory panels were convened to explore the challenges and opportunities in various sectors and draft recommendations for the Climate Action Council to consider for their overall Scoping Plan. Previous blog articles reviewed the Energy Efficiency and Housing, Transportation, and Power Generation Advisory Panels. This article will focus on the Land Use and Local Government Advisory Panel (LULG).
Land Use and Local Government Advisory Panel Goals
The LULG Advisory Panel was tasked with developing recommendations for how land use and government actions could reduce greenhouse gas emissions in pursuit of the CLCPA goals. This included coming up with short- and long-term actions to support climate change adaptation and resilience in communities and statewide, which meant that they had to collaborate with other advisory panels to better establish how land use and local government actions could support other sector-specific strategies and recommendations.
Building capacity, communities and infrastructure, and living systems were the three main themes that emerged while exploring recommendations for promoting adaptation and resilience to climate change.
Other LULG Advisory Panel goals included:
- Reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) with smart growth principles
- Reducing barriers to the adoption of solar and wind power
- Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including those associated with local government operations, through policy actions
- Increasing local government capacity to plan and implement climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, including local education, leadership, and greater intermunicipal collaboration
- Increasing opportunities for carbon sequestration
- Increasing equitable and intersectional climate change adaptation, resilience, and recovery in a way that directly benefits disadvantaged communities and also supports vibrant, affordable, and healthy communities
State of the Sector
Using land more efficiently, promoting smart growth, and orienting development around public transit hubs reduces VMT, which in turn reduces emissions from private vehicles. Therefore, at the local level, it is important to develop comprehensive plans and utilize zoning tools that promote inclusivity, affordability, and density. Local governments can directly address the issues of climate change in their own communities with decisions regarding the codes and standards in place in the community, efficiency in government operations, infrastructure development and upgrades, land use and transportation systems connections, clean energy policies and projects, and consumer demand for clean energy.
There are already several state programs working with local governments in pursuit of climate goals in the areas of downtown revitalization, smart growth, healthy and age-friendly policies, affordable housing, parks and open space protection, and climate resilience and adaptation. In particular, there are three state programs in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions:
Climate Smart Communities
Climate Smart Communities (CSCs) offers free technical assistance, grants, and rebates for electric vehicles so that local governments can reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. After passing a municipal resolution to join, communities register and then select potential actions to pursue. Beyond greater efficiency, energy security, and improved air quality, participating communities also receive state-level recognition for their leadership and streamlined access to resources, training, tools, and expert guidance. So far, there are 338 registered communities, 63 bronze certified communities, and 7 silver certified communities.
Clean Energy Communities
The NYSERDA Clean Energy Communities (CECs) program provides communities with the tools and resources they need to take action in order to become eligible for grants to fund clean energy projects and be designated a Clean Energy Community. Unlike the CSC program, the CEC program is completely focused on energy use. There is some overlap, however, and actions that earn points toward the CEC designation also can count for CSC certification. As of September 2020, there were 583 participating communities and 313 Clean Energy Communities.
NYPA Five Cities Energy Master Plans
In 2015, the New York Power Authority released City Energy Plans for Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers. This program developed strategic frameworks for these cities to be able to reduce energy consumption and collaborate better with other governmental agency partners, utilities, and other organizations. The overall goals also included strengthening the reliability and resiliency of the cities’ energy infrastructure, catalyzing clean energy investment and economic development, contributing to a cleaner environment, and enhancing the quality of life for inhabitants.
Engagement with Local Officials
As part of the recommendation development process, the LULG Advisory Panel held several roundtable discussions with local officials and leaders to hear and learn from their perspectives. Their feedback made it clear that municipalities need support to plan and implement sustainability initiatives, including more education, funding, and regional coordination. Because municipalities have different needs, a regional approach to meeting the CLCPA goals could more effectively address how geographic location, population size, and density impact communities’ ability to reduce emissions and transition to clean energy. Counties and regional organizations want to be able to provide education, training, outreach, and technical assistance to their communities, and they are especially interested in developing fast-charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Summary of recommendations
The LULG Advisory Panel assembled an impressive list of recommendations for the Climate Action Council. The subgroups were divided into clean energy, land use, carbon sequestration, and adaptation and resilience. Below is an overview of some of their many recommendations:
Clean Energy
A statewide dashboard of community GHG emissions inventories needs to be developed in order to promote local climate action, monitor and measure progress, and ensure data consistency. Local governments need to be encouraged to become leaders in energy efficiency. There are several ways for them to do this, including developing energy conservation policies or adopting the New York Stretch Energy Code. A set of statewide mandates would promote uniformity of policies across municipalities and help align energy codes with CLCPA goals. Clean energy siting needs to be supported through the planning and development stages with streamlined permitting, local regulations and laws, and reasonable processes for installations. Households, businesses, and community institutions need to be connected with clean energy products, services, and job opportunities. Existing state program opportunities, incentives, technical assistance, and centralized procurement services need to continue and be expanded in order to motivate local governments to improve assets they control, such as lighting, heat pump projects, and solar on municipal property.
Land Use
Comprehensive and collaborative smart growth planning needs to take place at the county and regional in order to better guide future growth, redevelopment, and conservation needs. New York State should provide direct planning and zoning assistance to local governments in order to implement mitigation strategies. As local and regional projects are developed, the review and approval process should be accelerated, including transit-oriented development, in particular. When it comes to state funding and new infrastructure spending, priorities should be aligned to promote smart growth, equity, and sustainability.
Carbon Sequestration
There are natural areas in New York State that can be used for carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation, such as freshwater wetlands, coastal habitats, forests, and grasslands. There is additional blue carbon potential in tidal wetlands and submerged aquatic vegetation. Protection, restoration, and monitoring of these areas through mapping, research, conservation, and stewardship could maintain and enhance their carbon sequestration potential.
Adaptation and Resilience
A comprehensive and equitable state climate change adaptation and resilience plan needs to be created, implemented, and periodically updated. Moving forward, state funding and regulatory programs should encompass adaptation and risk-reduction considerations. State agencies should support regional and local plans and projects, community engagement, and public education in order to build adaptive capacity across all sectors. Policies, tools, and programs need to be developed and implemented to reduce the risks associated with coastal and inland flooding, new patterns of thermal extremes, and other ecosystem threats. The security, resiliency, and reliability of a decarbonized energy system needs to be ensured, and the agricultural community also needs to be supported.
Final Thoughts
Greater communication and collaboration between municipalities, as well as greater support and funding from the state level, will help local governments advance their climate and emissions programs toward meeting the CLCPA goals. The existing programs in place to help local government pursue climate action need to be promoted, supported, and expanded, when possible. At the same time, the potential land use for mitigation, specifically when it comes to carbon sequestration, needs to be explored and researched further.
