Introduction
Call to Action
The climate crisis is advancing dangerously. But we are also seeing a widespread wake-up and outpouring of creative response – not only by governments but by individuals, businesses, and unexpected alliances. A global climate solutions movement has come to life, engaging people of every age and circumstance in doing what they can to restore our world. New York’s Hudson Valley is emerging as a “climate creativity corridor,” a place with the state’s highest concentration of committed local governments and an extensive network of projects demonstrating the diverse climate solutions that are ready to scale.This Regional Climate Action Road Map and Tool Kit is designed to celebrate this emerging movement and greatly expand its reach, at a time when the state is mobilized to implement the nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, or CLCPA.
With leadership by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the Department of Environmental Conservation, a Climate Action Council representing broad interests has met over several years, creating a Scoping Plan to frame policies that will achieve the enormous changes needed in our systems of production and resource use to stop climate pollution and speed up environmental restoration. Tens of thousands of public comments on this plan were received and incorporated to create a Plan that charts the state’s course for decarbonizing the entire economy. The Scoping Plan (summarized in Appendix 3) provides the basis for policy and programs to be implemented by state agencies starting in 2024. Across agencies, New York has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to specified targets. Our effort supports, and in many ways parallels, the work of state agencies and stakeholders to meet these targets.
This website tackles the central question, “How do we, as a region, reach our climate goals?” While this Road Map is organized around the specific goals of the CLCPA, it is distinct in focusing beyond policy into implementation by means of direct projects and programs that can be useful at the scale of regional networks, communities, institutions, and enterprises – efforts big enough to matter and yet small enough to fall within the responsibilities of county and local governments, nonprofits, businesses, and public-private partnerships.
Who We Are
This effort is a public-private partnership, jointly launched by Sustainable Hudson Valley and staff of the Hudson Valley Regional Council. Sustainable Hudson Valley is a regional nonprofit organization formed in 2007; its mission is to speed up, scale up, jazz up and leverage progress against climate change, creating communities where people and nature thrive. This cannot be done without an integrated approach to climate protection that is tied to economic development, social and environmental justice and connected, resilient communities. HVRC is a Council of Governments dedicated to infrastructure, resource management, clean energy and economic development; its members are the counties and cities of the Mid-Hudson Region.
Over 90 skilled volunteers have been involved with this effort. Some have participated in subject matter working groups to think through the path of action; others have provided specialized inputs and support, and still others have reviewed and improved draft material. This has been a vigorous, extended process of collaboration. Together, we have grappled with the serious impacts of climate change. Many of us are excited about the opportunities and creative possibilities we have discovered through this initiative.
Out of Crises, Turning the Corner
We began this work at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, out of a desire to imagine a positive path forward that could motivate our communities to take greater control of our collective circumstances. Recognizing the enormous stresses on governments, agencies, grassroots organizations and businesses at that time, we used a fairly informal process for engaging stakeholders who were also subject matter experts. We gathered the knowledge of our organizations and networks, representing a broad range of issues and expertise. And we set out to imagine how to emerge from the Covid crisis in ways that would strengthen our ability to have a positive impact on environment and economy.
While preventing the worst climate changes, we are already faced with impacts including increasing temperatures and extreme weather events. The New York State Climate Impacts Assessment provides a thorough analysis of the state’s changing climate, focusing on the effects on key sectors like agriculture, infrastructure, health, and ecosystems. It highlights the importance of addressing vulnerabilities, especially in marginalized communities, and offers strategies for adaptation and resilience.
We are offering a broad discussion of the actions that need to be taken - by some of us, and in some cases by all of us. We have aimed for balance between detail and simplicity. We sincerely hope that this framing of the necessary actions - and the possibilities for creative acceleration - will provide a point of entry for wider participation and greater coordination.
The global climate system is increasingly unstable and unpredictable, as a result of changes that give rise to more changes. For example, melting of polar permafrost leads to release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Scientists use the concept “carbon budget” to define the concentration of greenhouse gases that the atmosphere can hold without temperature rising unacceptably – generally considered an increase of 1.5 degrees C from 1990 levels. This means that all years are not created equally. In terms of securing a livable planet, climate progress, sooner, is more valuable than the same progress, delayed.
The goals set by the Climate Act are expressed in decades. That makes it tempting to think about the work to be done in future tense. But 2030 and 2040 are outside dates for achieving aggressive goals. As we consider the sheer scope of work to be done in building out renewable energy, electrifying buildings and transportation, and transforming the ways we manage materials and conduct agriculture, the time to organize to accomplish that work efficiently is now.
Places and People: Cross-Cutting Themes
The Hudson River Valley extends from the River’s source in the Adirondacks down to New York Harbor. However, New York defines its political and economic regions by groups of counties. The Mid-Hudson Valley is defined as Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Sullivan, Ulster and Dutchess Counties (sometimes referred to as SPUD-ROW). We have focused our analysis most sharply on the seven-county political region, but have identified strategies and potential partnerships that can extend beyond these artificial boundaries to benefit the bioregion as a whole.
Widely known as a birthplace of the American environmental movement, the Hudson Valley has natural assets that are well protected and others that are at risk. There are major parks and preserves, and active land trusts in every part of the region ranging from small owners like the Kingston Land Trust to the regionally impactful Scenic Hudson, whose portfolio of protected lands includes over 45 parks and a spectacular regional network of trails. At the same time, the Valley has extensive damaged and degraded lands, farms under stress and forests in crisis.
Environmental justice is an essential element of our work. For centuries, patterns of unjust land use decisions have created economically and politically marginalized communities where decisions about development patterns have been made with little or no involvement of those who are impacted. As a result, a key approach is supporting communities in restoring local environments according to their values and priorities – a leverage point for positive change that we will explore in depth.
The covid-19 pandemic accelerated migration out of the metropolitan New York area, increasing the Hudson Valley’s population with an influx of knowledge workers who can work remotely, potentially worsening economic disparities and the affordable housing crisis.This creates an ethical imperative for climate action strategies to contribute to environmental and social justice – for example, by:
Expanding entry level jobs with living wages and growth potential;
Building resilience, especially in historically marginalized and overburdened communities, and local assets that are under the control of community organizations and interests;
Approaching planning and priority setting systemically across issues, to leverage resources and potentially address historic injustices as well as current planning issues;
Bringing the co-benefits of more comfortable, safe and affordable housing and neighborhoods, avoiding what has been called “green gentrification”.
As the Climate Action Council has worked to translate the Climate Act into policies and programs, its Just Transition Working Group published a study of the jobs associated with decarbonization of the economy. This report predicted an estimated 189,000 net increase in jobs by 2030. While a few industries will contract – notably gas stations and fuel delivery services – there will be increases in a wide range of opportunities. From installing heat pumps and solar panels to electrifying school buses, there is a huge range of technical opportunity. And all the emerging businesses will need staff in support, management, communications, finance, law, and much more. This means that economic development and education are cross-cutting themes in all the categories of climate solutions we explore.
Facing and tackling the climate crisis at its roots requires significant changes in our patterns of development, and our ways of living and working. These changes are about much more than clean energy. While electric transportation is an improvement over fossil-fueled options, fully tackling the carbon footprint of transportation of people and goods also requires re-localizing much of our economic activity, so that what we need is produced closer to where it is consumed. This means continuing attention to re-designing the downtowns and neighborhoods around us for mixed use, local production, public health and climate resilience. If this idea is held steady as an underlying theme, it will be easier for communities to plan for multiple benefits and set wise priorities.
This is especially true where environmental justice is concerned. The Climate Act calls for at least 35% of the state’s ambitious climate investments to be directed to “disadvantaged” communities. Advisory panels took pains to define these communities in a clear and transparent process, and represent them on a map. They are everywhere! They include parts of Beacon, Bedford Hills, Catskill, Elmsford, Haverstraw, Hudson, Kingston, Kiryas Joel, Monroe, Montrose, Mt. Kisco, New Paltz, Newburgh, Nyack, Ossining, Peekskill, Pomona, Poughkeepsie, Putnam Valley, Sleepy Hollow, Tivoli, Vail’s Gate, Valhalla, Wappingers Falls, and Yonkers. The entire Hudson River corridor contains impacted communities where there are opportunities to right historic wrongs. [Maps can be found at Disadvantaged Communities - NYSERDA]
A Decisive Time
The global climate system is increasingly unstable and unpredictable, as a result of changes that give rise to more changes. For example, melting of polar permafrost leads to release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Scientists use the concept “carbon budget” to define the concentration of greenhouse gases that the atmosphere can hold without temperature rising unacceptably – generally considered an increase of 1.5 degrees C from 1990 levels. This means that all years are not created equally. In terms of securing a livable planet, climate progress, sooner, is more valuable than the same amount of progress, delayed. The Fifth National Climate Assessment, published in November 2023, made clear that we are not on track to achieve near-term goals toward the Paris agreement outcomes.
The goals set by the Climate Act are expressed in decades, making it tempting to view the work to be done as future activities that we will gear up for in due time. But 2030 and 2040 are outside dates for achieving aggressive goals. As we consider the sheer scope of work to be done, just in making renewable energy our primary source, electrifying buildings and transportation, the time to gear up is now.
New York is in the midst of a critical period of policymaking, to translate the Climate Act into useful policies and programs. This is an enormously important moment for organizing, building consensus about next steps, understanding the systems we need to change, and taking the time to imagine creative steps that will overcome barriers. We hope that this collection of resources and strategies will provide a useful vision. With a common vision, we are in a far better position to accelerate the work to be done.
