Climate Action Process
As per the adoption of the Climate Smart and Green Jobs Community Pledge as Resolution 181 of 2009, a Climate Smart and Green Jobs Taskforce was formed, initially led by the Kingston Climate Analyst and then the Climate Smart Coordinator for the City of Kingston. This group was formed as a body charged with implementing the Climate Pledge. Initially, a sub-committee structure was established that ultimately morphed into the one taskforce, with support from other stakeholders. The mission of the Climate Smart Green Jobs Taskforce is to create and implement an action plan including comprehensive policies and programs for the City of Kingston to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance operational and energy efficiencies, reduce energy costs, support local job growth, and adapt to a changing climate while improving quality of life, saving taxpayer dollars, and promoting social justice.
In order to execute the task of crafting a Climate Action Plan for the City of Kingston, a federal NYSERDA/ARRA grant was secured by the City of Kingston to hire a full time Climate Analyst for one year, who began working in March 2011. The Climate Analyst has worked to complete an assessment of the city’s energy use and what the energy usage means in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. A Bard College intern and a CAC member worked with the Climate Analyst to help inventory the city’s vehicles as well as gather, review and analyze the city’s utility bills. There was also significant assistance from numerous city employees. The Kingston Community Energy and Greenhouse Gas Report, in Draft form, is under review as of December 31, 2011. A page was also set up under the Kingston CAC webpage, with ongoing information regarding the Climate Action Planning Process.
In 2011, the Kingston Conservation Advisory Council was awarded a $2,250.00 grant from the Clean Air-Cool Planet Community Catalyst Fund to help advance the efforts outlined in the Kingston Climate Smart and Green Jobs Communities Pledge. The grant has provided funds for the City to become a member of ICLEI-Local Government for Sustainability thereby providing the City access to ICLEI's greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and climate action planning software tools, training and technical resources. The grant also provided funding for the production and distribution of public outreach and education materials to encourage citizen engagement in a community effort to reduce energy usage and GHG emissions.