KINGSTON – Two public workshops to present the City of Kingston’s Climate Action Plan 2030 draft to the public will be held on Monday, November 8 at 12 noon and 5 p.m.
Mayor Steven Noble said with community input, Kingston is developing “a bold vision to achieve sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The Climate Action Plan (CAP) 2030 will provide a blueprint to build sustainable, resilient, and independent energy, food, economic, and social systems over the next 10 years.”
In late 2020, the city partnered with Citizens for Local Power, a local nonprofit energy educator, to engage the community on the development of the CAP 2030 and identify the public’s priorities for the next ten years.
Key engagement activities in 2021 included a public survey, community meetings, and neighborhood focus groups. In addition, a Project Advisory Committee, composed of residents, climate action advocates and specialists, and elected officials, provided local expertise to further inform the draft plan.
Based upon this community input, CADMUS, an environmental consultancy firm, identified 20 potential climate action strategies and conducted a more in-depth analysis on seven of those strategies that required more data.
The draft Climate Action Plan 2030 presented at two upcoming public meetings on November 8 will provide an overview of the identified strategies. Both meetings will be conducted with the same presentation, twice in one day, to increase availability to the community. Comments collected at the public workshops and during the subsequent comment period will be incorporated into the final plan, which will be submitted to the Common Council for consideration and adoption in early 2022.
“For the past decade, the City of Kingston has been implementing initiatives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a changing climate, including the installation of EV charging stations in public parking lots, solar panels on municipal buildings, and integration of green infrastructure into streetscape projects, among many others. These efforts were recognized when we were honored as the first Silver Certified Climate Smart City in the State of New York,” said Mayor Noble. “The Climate Action Plan 2030 will build on our successful climate work to date, as we continue to prepare for the next generation. This is a critical moment for climate efforts, and the process of updating and building on our Climate Action Plan is a key opportunity for the community to provide vital input for how we move forward together.”
More information and to register for the meetings, please visit at https://engagekingston.com/climate-action-plan
