Nassau County to join state Climate Smart Communities program

Nassau County officials said Tuesday they were joining a statewide program aimed at helping local governments address climate change, which they called a dire threat to the planet.

Nassau is joining the Climate Smart Communities program in part because the federal government, under President Donald Trump, was not doing enough to address climate change and pursue such measures as solar energy and wind power, officials said.

“It is our responsibility to protect our environment for generations to come and Nassau County stands ready to do our part," Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said at a news conference held on a boardwalk at the top of a sand dune overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Lido Beach.

Officials did not have an exact figure on how much the effort would cost Nassau County, though they said it would be at least several million dollars.

Officials said that money would be largely offset by state grants and benefits to the economy.

The Smart Communities program was created by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. It lists a series of guidelines and goals participating governments must meet to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve climate resilience.

"New York is leading the way on combating climate change and ensuring a green, sustainable future for generations to come,” said State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, who is chairman of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee.

“When our leaders in Washington,  especially in the White House, are supposed to be working on this problem, they are doing the opposite,” he said. “It means that it is up to our state and local governments to be leading the way.”

Basil Seggos, DEC commissioner, called climate change “the defining issue of our generation.”

Some other local governments have already signed on to the Climate Smart program. The Town of Hempstead, the nation’s largest township, did so in 2018.

 “The development of a green innovation economy is not only beneficial to the environment, it is better for the bottom line, saving taxpayers money while providing new and exciting job opportunities,” said Laura Gillen, now former Hempstead supervisor, at the time. 

Nassau County plans to decrease energy use, convert county vehicles to low/no emission and fuel efficient, reduce solid waste generation, and promote recycling, Curran said.

It also will work to protect open space, biodiversity and water quality in the county.  The program calls for supporting a “green innovation economy.” 

Adrienne Esposito, of the advocacy group Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said the county’s move was "exactly what we need to be doing,” particularly because of the importance of Long Island’s rich though fragile environment, including its hundreds of miles of coastline.

“Let’s not be fooled: Long Island is on the front line of climate change, and we do have an added responsibility … to fight this global threat,” she said.

Joshua Klainberg of the New York League of Conservation Voters said, “We know this is a very big deal because when a county like Nassau acts, it really sends messages around the state to all the other counties to follow suit.”