Pleasantville is beginning the process to become a Climate Smart Community. The journey toward certification began in the spring of 2017 when students and faculty from the Pace University Environmental Policy Masters Degree Program gave a presentation on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Climate Smart Communities program to the Village of Pleasantville’s Board of Trustees.
Nicole Virgona, one of the graduate students from the Environmental Policy Masters Degree Program, helped prepare for the group’s pitch, developed a proposal for a Village Climate Action Plan, drafted a press release, and researched other municipal climate programs.
According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, “members of the Climate Smart Communities Program are a network of New York communities engaged in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improving climate resilience.”
In its “Guide to Local Action,” the Department of Environmental Conservation said that Climate Smart Communities can follow two steps that will in the long term minimize the risks of climate change and reduce its costs. These steps include reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to a changing climate by changing the environment before climate changes occur.
On September 25th 2017, the Village Board of Trustees voted to adopt a resolution to formally join the Climate Smart Communities program as a direct result of the work done by Virgona’s group. This is just the first step out of 13 “priority actions” that are considered “fundamental to a successful municipal climate program.” Virgona and her team are now in the process of completing the others.
“The Village and Pace University have entered in a collaboration through which I am now assisting the Village Administrator toward Climate Smart Certification by December 2018,” said Virgona.